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–Not graded
History · Pine Flat

15% of Pine Flat’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1945 on.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pine Flat’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Pine Flat’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pine Flat’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pine Flat’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHammond's Studio - Pine Flat Hotel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Pine Flat, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pine Flat yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Pine Flat is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, California. Pine Flat sits at an elevation of 3,871 feet (1,180 m). The 2020 United States census reported Pine Flat's population was 206, up from 166 at the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 166 to 206 (+24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Pine Flat, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Hammond's Studio - Pine Flat Hotel1918–1930Hammond's Studio - Pine Flat Hotel
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Pine Flat on the map, 1945 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pine Flat. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Pine Flat on the 1945 USGS mapPine Flat on the 1958 USGS mapPine Flat on the 1986 USGS map1945Tobias Peak sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pine Flat.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hammond's Studio - Pine Flat Hotel
Retake this viewHammond's Studio - Pine Flat Hotel, 1918–1930

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pine Flat’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Pine Flat

Nobody well known was born in Pine Flat itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Joan MarshAmerican actress · b. 1913
Rick OwensAmerican fashion designer · b. 1961
Barbara BaxleyAmerican actress · b. 1923
J
Joe SotoAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1987
J
Jeff CottonGuitarist for Captain Beefheart and MU · b. 1948
Ryan ClarkAmerican musician · b. 1979
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

California Hot SpringsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pine Flat’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.