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.
1888Sheet 1 of 1
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Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Tres Pinos on the map, 1921 to 1955
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tres Pinos. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Hollister 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 Tres Pinos.
The original settlement of Tres Pinos was located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the current town. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached what they called Tres Pinos station on March 12, 1873, running two passenger and two freight trains a day. In 1874 the original settlement of Tres Pinos was renamed to Paicines. The railroad was planned to run further south to Coalinga and Los Angeles, though Los Pinos would end up as the end of a minor branch as the main lines were built elsewhere.
In its heyday the town was not only the end of the railroad line but was also a stage coach stop. There was a Southern Pacific Hotel, rodeo grounds, grain barns, corrals, and many saloons, restaurants and even a brothel.
Passages that mention Tres Pinos, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of San Benito County, California1881 · page 99Read the page →
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Tres Pinos, six miles south of Hollister, lies on the Tres Pinos creek, and forms the terminus of the Hollister branch of 'the Southern Pacific Railroad. Indeed, the town owes its existence to this fact. It is the spot to which most of the teaming is brought from the mountains. At first it was the intents of the railroad company to run their southern line through the San Benito valley, but a later choice fell on the Salinas valley The county has not been left out in the cold, however,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of San Benito County, California1881 · page 79Read the page →
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The determined spirit of the little colony, and the extension of the Tres Pinos branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which extended to the new town of Hollister, thereby opening up a market for the produce of the country, established the San Justo Homestead Association and its incident, the town of Hollister, beyond a doubt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2006
