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C−History
History · Simi Valley

Simi Valley dates to 1969, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #538 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Simi Valley was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1970.

1969founded
3on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Simi Valley began

When was Simi Valley founded?

1969

Simi Valley dates its founding to 1969 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 59,832 in 19702020 census: 126,35657 years

How historic is Simi Valley?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Simi Valley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Simi Valley is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #538 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 Simi Valley’s overall grade.
Founding era1969, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.3) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 37%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Simi Valley ranks #354 on History.

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 Simi Valley’s 0.2 sits above most of its state (66% of California towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Simi Valley’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1969.

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 Simi Valley’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 Simi Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Simi Valley, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1969. Watch Simi Valley change.Famous sons and daughtersMatt Evans, Scott Rice and 16 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Simi Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Simi Valley’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Simi Valley’s post office has been open since 1971. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Simi
1889–1971
Simiopolis
1889–1889
Santa Susana
1904–1971
Simi Valley
1971–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Community CenterCorriganvilleFriendly Village Mobile Home ParkSanta SusanaStrathearn
Gone or out of use
Hall RanchlocaleSimi Oil Fieldoilfield
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Simi Valley
AssumptionEl Rancho Simi PioneerMount Sinai Memorial Park

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

On the map

Simi Valley on the map, 1900 to 1969

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

Simi Valley on the 1900 USGS mapSimi Valley on the 1921 USGS mapSimi Valley on the 1941 USGS mapSimi Valley on the 1951 USGS mapSimi Valley on the 1969 USGS map1900Piru 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 Simi Valley.

The story

How Simi Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Simi Valley.

Read it all →

Simi Valley's name is derived from the Chumash word Shimiyi, which refers to the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region. The name could have originated from the strands of mist from coastal fog that move into the Oxnard Plain and wind their way up the Calleguas Creek and the Arroyo Las Posas into Simi Valley. The origin of the name was preserved because of the work of the anthropologist John P. Harrington, whose brother, Robert E. Harrington lived in Simi Valley. Robert Harrington later explained the name: "The word Simiji in Indian meant the little white wind clouds so often seen when the wind blows up here and Indians living on the coast, would never venture up here when those wind clouds were in the sky. The word Simiji was constructed by whites to the word Simi. There are other explanations about the name Simi, but this one was given to me by my brother who worked over 4…

ChaptersChumash/pre-colonial periodThe Rancho periodThe Pioneer periodModern residential developmentFour communities prior to modern residential developmentOther items of historical interest

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Simi Valley, 1889 to 2006

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Simi post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Simiopolis post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Simiopolis post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1904Post officeThe Santa Susana post office opens
  8. 1969
    FoundingSimi Valley is established
  9. 1971Post officeThe Simi post office closes
  10. 1971Post officeThe Santa Susana post office closes
  11. 1981Born hereScott Rice is born here
  12. 1981Born hereKameron Loe is born here
  13. 1987Born hereTyler Robertson is born here
  14. 21st century
  15. 2006Born hereMatt Evans is born here
By decade

Simi Valley, decade by decade

Today28 recent
A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A portion of the mosaic sidewalk that winds through G…A remnant of one the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A remnant of one the unusual structures at Grandma Pr…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Inside one of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisb…One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…Some of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Some of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's …One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013One of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's B…Some of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013Some of the unusual structures at Grandma Prisbrey's …A doll's head at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village2013A doll's head at Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
On the National Register

3 historic places in Simi Valley

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Simi Adobe-Strathearn House
Simi Adobe-Strathearn HouseColony HouseGrandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian2
Folk Art Environment1
Simi Adobe-Strathearn HouseVictorian
Colony HouseVictorian
Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle VillageFolk Art Environment

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

People over time

Simi Valley, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000198020002020126,356

Grew from 59,832 people in 1970 to 126,356 in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

18 famous people were born in Simi Valley

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

See all →
M
Matt EvansGuatemalan-American soccer player · b. 2006
Scott RiceAmerican baseball player · b. 1981
Kameron LoeAmerican baseball player · b. 1981
Tyler RobertsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1987
D
Devin PeralesAmerican soccer player · b. 1993
M
Matthew WolffAmerican professional golfer · b. 1999
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Santa SusanaIts storyB−Thousand Oaks3 historic placesC−MoorparkIts storyD

Questions about Simi Valley’s history

What year was Simi Valley founded?

In 1969, according to Wikidata. Simi Valley’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1970 counted 59,832 people here.

How does Simi Valley rank for history?

Simi Valley is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #538 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 Simi Valley?

Three places: the Simi Adobe-Strathearn House (listed 1978), the Colony House (1978) and the Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village (1996).

How old are the homes in Simi Valley?

0.8% of Simi Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), 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 the Library of Congress (28), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.