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C−History
History · Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill was first counted by the census in 1950, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #523 of 847 in California. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Patrick Rodgers Farm. Most of Pleasant Hill was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1950.

1950first census
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pleasant Hill began

When was Pleasant Hill founded?

1950

Pleasant Hill first appears in the census in 1950. Another post office, Sequoya (1922), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 5,686 in 19502020 census: 34,61376 years

How historic is Pleasant Hill?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.
History grade

What drives Pleasant Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pleasant Hill is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #523 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pleasant Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1950, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 38%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pleasant Hill’s 0.6 sits above most of its state (72% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Pleasant Hill’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pleasant Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18978 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1993. Watch Pleasant Hill change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pleasant Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasant Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Pleasant Hill on the map, 1897 to 1993

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

Pleasant Hill on the 1897 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1915 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1947 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1959 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1968 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1973 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1980 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1993 USGS map1897Concord 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 Pleasant Hill.

The story so far

Pleasant Hill, in brief

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

Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park High School, Diablo Valley College, the Pleasant Hill Library of the Contra Costa County Library system, and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District.

Its first post office opened in 1950. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 33,152 to 34,613 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Pleasant Hill, 1897 to 2006

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922Post officeThe Sequoya post office opens
  5. 1927Post officeThe Sequoya post office closes
  6. 1955Born hereCynthia Olavarri is born here
  7. 1978Born hereAdin Brown is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2001Born hereZyon Pullin is born here
  10. 2006Born hereOscar Verhoeven is born here
By decade

Pleasant Hill, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Pleasant Hill Martinez aerial with EBMUD Trail and the Walnut Creek2018Pleasant Hill Martinez aerial with EBMUD Trail and th…P20140310-0057—View of Pleasant Hill—Old Briones Road2014P20140310-0057—View of Pleasant Hill—Old Briones RoadPHRedevlopment99-22010PHRedevlopment99-2PHRedevlopment99-12010PHRedevlopment99-1PHRedelopment99-42010PHRedelopment99-4SPH-252007SPH-25SPH-242007SPH-24SPH-222007SPH-22May East Bay colored2006May East Bay colored
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pleasant Hill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Patrick Rodgers Farm
Patrick Rodgers Farm
Buildings
Patrick Rodgers FarmBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pleasant Hill, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000196019802000202034,613

Grew from 5,686 people in 1950 to 34,613 in 2020, 6 times over.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasant Hill’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pleasant Hill

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Adin BrownAmerican soccer player · b. 1978
C
Cynthia OlavarriAmerican bicycle racer · b. 1955
Zyon PullinAmerican basketball player · b. 2001
O
Oscar VerhoevenAmerican soccer player · b. 2006
W
Willie MacIverAmerican baseball player · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Sequoya, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hookston

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Reliez ValleyIts storyDConcord2 historic placesCWalnut Creek3 historic placesBPacheco1 historic placeCMartinez9 historic placesA−Contra Costa CentreIts storyD

Questions about Pleasant Hill’s history

What year was Pleasant Hill founded?

The Pleasant Hill post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1961.

How does Pleasant Hill rank for history?

Pleasant Hill is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #523 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Pleasant Hill?

One place: the Patrick Rodgers Farm (listed 1991).

How old are the homes in Pleasant Hill?

1% of Pleasant Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1972.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.