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C−History
History · Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage’s post office opened in 1951, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #569 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Rancho Mirage was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listing is the Kenaston House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1970.

1951first post office
1on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rancho Mirage’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rancho Mirage began

When was Rancho Mirage founded?

1951

The Rancho Mirage post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1973.

First census: 1,298 in 19702020 census: 16,99975 years

How historic is Rancho Mirage?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rancho Mirage post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1973.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rancho Mirage’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rancho Mirage is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #569 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 Rancho Mirage’s overall grade.
Founding era1951, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.7) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 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 16%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 33%

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 Rancho Mirage’s 0.6 sits above most of its state (71% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1973 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Rancho Mirage’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 Rancho Mirage’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rancho Mirage’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 viewRancho Mirage California Sunset March 1…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Rancho Mirage came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rancho Mirage.

Read it all →

Native Americans came to the area 2,000 years ago. The local tribe in Rancho Mirage is the Agua Caliente Indian tribe of Cahuilla Indians. The tribe was almost annihilated by smallpox in 1862–63 but survived, today establishing a resort and casino within the modern city limits. An ancient Native-American trade route, the Halchidhoma trade route, follows the water holes and water springs along the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. A segment of this trail is now part of California State Route 111 in Rancho Mirage. The trade route originally reached from the Pacific Ocean in the west to central Arizona, and was used for centuries for trading, food, and for religious purposes. About 1,000 years ago, the local Cahuilla tribes were introduced to pottery from Native American tribes by the Colorado River. The Spaniards also knew of the Coco-Mariposa Trail in the 1820s when they would send …

ChaptersEtymologyPresidential history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rancho Mirage, 1941 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1951Post officeThe Rancho Mirage post office opens
  4. 1996In the archiveRancho Mirage California Sunset March 1996
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000Born hereCitlalli Ortiz is born here
By decade

Rancho Mirage, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Rancho Mirage California Sunset March 19961996Rancho Mirage California Sunset March 1996
Today16 recent
Scorpion2021ScorpionSanta rosa mountains2021Santa rosa mountainsSan jacinto mountains2021San jacinto mountainsRancho mirage overlook2021Rancho mirage overlookJoe butler trail club at morningside2021Joe butler trail club at morningsideSan Jacintos from Sunnylands, CA 2-142014San Jacintos from Sunnylands, CA 2-14San Jacintos from Sunnylands 2-22-14a2014San Jacintos from Sunnylands 2-22-14aSan Jacintos from Sunnylands 2-22-142014San Jacintos from Sunnylands 2-22-14Reflections 2-22-142014Reflections 2-22-14Garden and grove outside the visitor center at Sunnylands2013Garden and grove outside the visitor center at Sunnyl…Garden and grove outside the visitor center at Sunnylands2013Garden and grove outside the visitor center at Sunnyl…Rancho Mirage CA2010Rancho Mirage CARanchoMirageCa2009RanchoMirageCaPresident George W. Bush, Former President Gerald Ford and Mrs. Betty Ford Greet the Media in Rancho Mirage, California…2006President George W. Bush, Former President Gerald For…President George W. Bush walks with Former President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford2006President George W. Bush walks with Former President …Gerald Ford is embraced by his wife Betty Ford2005Gerald Ford is embraced by his wife Betty Ford
On the map

Rancho Mirage on the map, 1941 to 1996

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

Rancho Mirage on the 1941 USGS mapRancho Mirage on the 1957 USGS mapRancho Mirage on the 1972 USGS mapRancho Mirage on the 1981 USGS mapRancho Mirage on the 1996 USGS map1941Toro 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 Rancho Mirage.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Rancho Mirage

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Kenaston House
Kenaston House
Buildings
Kenaston HouseBuilding

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

People over time

Rancho Mirage, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,000198020002020Peak: 17,218

Between 1,298 and 17,218 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Rancho Mirage’s post office has been open since 1951.

Gone or out of use
Wonder Date Gardenslocale

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.

Cathedral CityIts storyDPalm Desert1 historic placeDPalm Springs33 historic placesB−

Questions about Rancho Mirage’s history

What year was Rancho Mirage founded?

The Rancho Mirage post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1973.

How does Rancho Mirage rank for history?

Rancho Mirage is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #569 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 Rancho Mirage?

One place: the Kenaston House (listed 2016).

How old are the homes in Rancho Mirage?

0.9% of Rancho Mirage’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.