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C+History
History · San Jacinto

San Jacinto’s post office opened in 1870, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #265 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of San Jacinto was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.

1870first post office
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From San Jacinto’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How San Jacinto began

When was San Jacinto founded?

1870

The San Jacinto post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1888.

First census: 661 in 18902020 census: 53,898156 years

How historic is San Jacinto?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first San Jacinto post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives San Jacinto’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Jacinto is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #265 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of San Jacinto’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.2% of homes (±1.1) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 69%

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 San Jacinto’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (68% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 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 San Jacinto’s past

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

Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1907, drew every building in San Jacinto.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Estudillo House, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Every building

San Jacinto, building by building, 1888–1907

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

San Jacinto fire insurance map, 1888, sheet 11888Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in San Jacinto

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Estudillo House
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Estudillo House
Estudillo MansionEstudillo House, built 1827★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
★ Landmark
Estudillo HouseBuilt 1827
Estudillo MansionItalianate

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

The story

How San Jacinto came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of San Jacinto.

Read it all →

The Luiseño were the original inhabitants of what later would be called the San Jacinto Valley, having many villages with residents.

The Anza Trail, one of the first European overland routes to California, named after Juan Bautista de Anza,4 crossed the valley in the 1770s. Mission padres named the valley, San Jacinto, which is Spanish for Saint Hyacinth, and around 1820 they established an outpost there.

In 1883, the San Jacinto Land Association laid out the modern city of San Jacinto at Five Points. The railroad arrived in 1888 and the city government was incorporated that same year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

San Jacinto, 1827 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827BuiltEstudillo House is built
  3. 1870Post officeThe San Jacinto post office opens
  4. 1886In the archiveThe town of San Jacinto is in great San Jacinto Valley, San Diego Co., Cal., twelve miles…
  5. 1892Born hereLoyd Wright is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901In the archiveUSGS San Jacinto Quadrangle 1901
  8. 1937In the archiveLocation of Gilman Hot Springs, Riverside County, California (1938) 01
  9. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1970LandmarkEstudillo House named a National Historic Landmark
  11. 1988Born hereJake Newton is born here
By decade

San Jacinto, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s6 items
The town of San Jacinto is in great San Jacinto Valley, San Diego Co., Cal., twelve miles south of Beaumont (formerly S…1886The town of San Jacinto is in great San Jacinto Valle…Artesian Water and Cheap Land in the Great San Jacinto Valley1887Artesian Water and Cheap Land in the Great San Jacint…USGS San Jacinto Quadrangle 19011901USGS San Jacinto Quadrangle 1901Location of Gilman Hot Springs, Riverside County, California (1938) 011937Location of Gilman Hot Springs, Riverside County, Cal…Location of Gilman Hot Springs, Riverside County, California (1938) 021937Location of Gilman Hot Springs, Riverside County, Cal…Plakat-Moscow-Jasinto-19371937Plakat-Moscow-Jasinto-1937
1940s–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
Date unknown3 to date
Gilman's Relief Hot Springs cottages 1920Date?Gilman's Relief Hot Springs cottages 1920RSO San Jacinto StationDate?RSO San Jacinto StationSan Jacinto Mayor Andrew KotyukDate?San Jacinto Mayor Andrew Kotyuk
Today15 recent
San Jacinto, California Neighborhood - Vertical2024San Jacinto, California Neighborhood - VerticalSan Jacinto, California Neighborhood - Horizontal2024San Jacinto, California Neighborhood - HorizontalPark Hill viewed from2024Park Hill viewed fromSJA Building Front SJAG20152015SJA Building Front SJAG2015TP F 012 Wiki2012TP F 012 WikiSan Jacinto West Ash Street2012San Jacinto West Ash StreetTupolev, ANT-252011Tupolev, ANT-25ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01ANT-25 012011ANT-25 01Hemet and2010Hemet andRTA bus photo2007RTA bus photo
On the map

San Jacinto on the map, 1942 to 1996

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

San Jacinto on the 1942 USGS mapSan Jacinto on the 1953 USGS mapSan Jacinto on the 1972 USGS mapSan Jacinto on the 1996 USGS map1942Banning 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 San Jacinto.

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.

The town of San Jacinto is in great San Jacinto Valley, San Diego Co., Cal., twelve miles south of Beaumont (formerly S…
Retake this viewThe town of San Jacinto is in great San Jacinto Valley, San Diego Co., Cal., twelve miles south of Beaumont (formerly S…, 1886

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

San Jacinto, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,000190019201940196019802000202053,898

Grew from 661 people in 1890 to 53,898 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in San Jacinto

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

See all →
J
Jake NewtonAmerican ice hockey defenceman · b. 1988
L
Loyd WrightAmerican lawyer · b. 1892
Help out

Finish San Jacinto’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewThe town of San Jacinto is in great San…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HemetIts storyC−

Questions about San Jacinto’s history

What year was San Jacinto founded?

The San Jacinto post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.

How does San Jacinto rank for history?

San Jacinto is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #265 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 San Jacinto?

Two places: the Estudillo House (listed 1970) and the Estudillo Mansion (2001).

How old are the homes in San Jacinto?

3% of San Jacinto’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 2000.

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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.