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D−History
History · Rolling Hills Estates

Rolling Hills Estates dates to 1957

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #817 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Rolling Hills Estates was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1960.

1957founded
0on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Clotee Allochuku · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Rolling Hills Estates began

When was Rolling Hills Estates founded?

1957

Rolling Hills Estates dates its founding to 1957 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 3,941 in 19602020 census: 8,28069 years

How historic is Rolling Hills Estates?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1962.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rolling Hills Estates’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rolling Hills Estates is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #817 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rolling Hills Estates’ overall grade.
Founding era1957, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.9) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 4%

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 Rolling Hills Estates’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1957.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Rolling Hills Estates’ 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 Rolling Hills Estates are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18967 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Rolling Hills Estates change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rolling Hills Estates’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rolling Hills Estates’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

Rolling Hills Estates on the map, 1896 to 1981

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

Rolling Hills Estates on the 1896 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1925 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1942 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1951 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1964 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1972 USGS mapRolling Hills Estates on the 1981 USGS map1896Redondo 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 Rolling Hills Estates.

The story

How Rolling Hills Estates came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rolling Hills Estates.

Read it all →

Rolling Hills Estates was historically part of Rancho San Pedro. The area eventually became known as Rancho El Elastico prior to incorporating as Rolling Hills Estates. It was Los Angeles County's 60th municipality, incorporated on September 18, 1957.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rolling Hills Estates, 1896 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1957
    FoundingRolling Hills Estates is established
  5. 1962Post officeThe Palos Verdes Peninsula post office opens
By decade

Rolling Hills Estates, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Palos Verdes Street Fair 20132013Palos Verdes Street Fair 2013Palos Verdes Street Fair 2013 - panoramio (2)2013Palos Verdes Street Fair 2013 - panoramio (2)Peninsula Center Library2007Peninsula Center LibraryCAMap-doton-Rolling Hills Estates2006CAMap-doton-Rolling Hills EstatesAMC Rolling Hills2004AMC Rolling Hills
People over time

Rolling Hills Estates, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019601980200020208,280

Grew from 3,941 people in 1960 to 8,280 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rolling Hills Estates’ Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Palos Verdes Peninsula

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.

Rancho Palos Verdes3 historic placesC−Torrance6 historic placesCLomitaIts storyC−Rolling HillsIts storyDPalos Verdes Estates3 historic placesC+

Questions about Rolling Hills Estates’ history

What year was Rolling Hills Estates founded?

In 1957, according to Wikidata. Rolling Hills Estates’ post office opened in 1962, and the census of 1960 counted 3,941 people here.

How does Rolling Hills Estates rank for history?

Rolling Hills Estates is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #817 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.

How old are the homes in Rolling Hills Estates?

0.7% of Rolling Hills Estates’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.