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C−History
History · Signal Hill

Signal Hill dates to 1924

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #581 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Signal Hill was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1930.

1924founded
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Signal Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Signal Hill began

When was Signal Hill founded?

1924

Signal Hill dates its founding to 1924 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 2,932 in 19302020 census: 11,848102 years

How historic is Signal Hill?

C−

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Signal Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Signal Hill is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #581 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Signal Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1924, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19407.3% of homes (±2.4) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 15%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 31%

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 Signal Hill’s 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1924.

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 Signal 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 writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18967 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Signal Hill change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Signal Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOil well no1 signalhill1921: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Signal Hill on the map, 1896 to 1981

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

Signal Hill on the 1896 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1902 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1925 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1949 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1964 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1972 USGS mapSignal Hill on the 1981 USGS map1896Downey 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 Signal Hill.

The story

How Signal Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Signal Hill.

Read it all →

The hill that the city is named after is 365 feet (111 m) above the surrounding city of Long Beach. Because of this height, it was used by the local Tongva Indians for signal fires that could be seen throughout the surrounding area and even out to Catalina Island, 26 miles (42 km) away.

After the Spanish claimed Alta California ("Upper California," or what is now the state of California), Signal Hill eventually became part of the first large rancho grant to be allotted under Spanish rule in Alta California. The Rancho San Pedro (Dominguez Rancho) land grant exceeded 74,000 acres (300 km2) as granted to a soldier, Juan Jose Dominguez, who accompanied Junipero Serra, by Governor Fages through authority of King Carlos III of Spain in 1784.

ChaptersDiscovery of oil

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Signal Hill, 1896 to 1996

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. 1921In the archiveOil well no1 signalhill1921
  5. 1924
    FoundingSignal Hill is established
  6. 1930In the archiveAir View, Famous Signal Hill, Signal Hill, Calif (68326)
  7. 1996Born hereAriana Washington is born here
By decade

Signal Hill, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s3 items
Oil well no1 signalhill19211921Oil well no1 signalhill1921Signal Hill1923Signal HillAir View, Famous Signal Hill, Signal Hill, Calif (68326)c. 1930Air View, Famous Signal Hill, Signal Hill, Calif (683…
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
Today6 recent
Seal of2023Seal ofSignalHill2019SignalHillAll Dressed Up2015All Dressed UpLong Beach California from Airplane looking North2013Long Beach California from Airplane looking NorthRace and ethnicity- Long Beach2010Race and ethnicity- Long BeachCHL 580 - Well "Alamitos 1"2010CHL 580 - Well "Alamitos 1"
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.

Oil well no1 signalhill1921
Retake this viewOil well no1 signalhill1921, 1921

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Signal Hill, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001940196019802000202011,848

Grew from 2,932 people in 1930 to 11,848 in 2020, 4 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Southern California Military Academyschool

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Signal Hill’s history

What year was Signal Hill founded?

In 1924, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 2,932 people here.

How does Signal Hill rank for history?

Signal Hill is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #581 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 Signal Hill?

7% of Signal Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.