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History · Vernon

Vernon dates to 1905

Most of Vernon was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1910.

1905founded
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vernon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vernon began

When was Vernon founded?

1905

Vernon dates its founding to 1905 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 772 in 19102020 census: 222121 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Vernon’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1980, then more than doubled.On the map since 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1981. Watch Vernon change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Vernon, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001920194019601980200020201,269 in 1930Low: 90

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1980, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the map

Vernon on the map, 1894 to 1981

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

Vernon on the 1894 USGS mapVernon on the 1900 USGS mapVernon on the 1928 USGS mapVernon on the 1953 USGS mapVernon on the 1966 USGS mapVernon on the 1972 USGS mapVernon on the 1981 USGS map1894Los Angeles 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 Vernon.

The story

How Vernon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vernon.

Read it all →

Vernon is the site of the Battle of La Mesa on January 9, 1847, when General Stephen W. Kearny again defeated General José María Flores the day after the Battle of Río San Gabriel. Accepting defeat, General Flores fled southeast to Sonora, while Major Pico headed north into the San Gabriel Mountains with a hundred Californios. This ended hostilities in Alta California during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. By the dawn of the 20th century, it was a stretch of unincorporated grassland near Los Angeles' flourishing downtown.

ChaptersElections of 2006CorruptionDisincorporation legislationTransparency and progress

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Vernon, 1888 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Vernondale post office opens
  3. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1897Post officeThe Vernondale post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905
    FoundingVernon is established
  7. 1912In the archiveVernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing match
  8. 1923In the archiveCrop of 1923 Central Manufacturing District of Los Angeles map showing Vernon rail lines …
  9. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,269
  10. 1941In the archiveFWP American Guide Series city 1941 California Los Angeles a guide to the city and its en…
  11. 1963In the archiveCA 22 I10 I5 NARA 1963 1001
By decade

Vernon, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s5 items
Vernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing match1912Vernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing matchCrop of 1923 Central Manufacturing District of Los Angeles map showing Vernon rail lines and streets1923Crop of 1923 Central Manufacturing District of Los An…MapLos Angeles Central Manufacturing District map 19231923Los Angeles Central Manufacturing District map 1923MapVernon Arena and Maier Park along 38th Street circa 19251923Vernon Arena and Maier Park along 38th Street circa 1…Photos 93363 large - Aerial view of Vernon in 1925, looking northeast near Santa Fe and Vernon Avenue1925Photos 93363 large - Aerial view of Vernon in 1925, l…
1940s–1960s2 items
FWP American Guide Series city 1941 California Los Angeles a guide to the city and its environs 391941FWP American Guide Series city 1941 California Los An…CA 22 I10 I5 NARA 1963 10011963CA 22 I10 I5 NARA 1963 1001
1970s–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
Today11 recent
Battle of La Mesa - 12019Battle of La Mesa - 1VernonCA-IndustrialWarehouseArea2017VernonCA-IndustrialWarehouseAreaTracks in Commerce and2017Tracks in Commerce andInt10-CA60-LARiver-Aerial22017Int10-CA60-LARiver-Aerial2Int10-CA60-LARiver-Aerial2017Int10-CA60-LARiver-AerialVernon, California2014Vernon, CaliforniaLoading bays2014Loading baysVernon Slauson2010Vernon SlausonVernon water tower2009Vernon water towerLos Angeles River2009Los Angeles RiverLos Angeles River 26th St Bridge2008Los Angeles River 26th St Bridge
Every building

Vernon, building by building, 1920–1926

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.

Vernon fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Vernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing match
Retake this viewVernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing match, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Vernondale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Clement JunctionHobart
Gone or out of use
Los Angeles Union Stock Yardslocale

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

Help out

Finish Vernon’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewVernon Arena, Wolgast - Rivers boxing m…: 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.

Los Angeles284 historic placesAHuntington ParkIts storyCMaywoodIts storyCBellIts storyC+CommerceIts storyD

Questions about Vernon’s history

What year was Vernon founded?

In 1905, according to Wikidata. Vernon’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1910 counted 772 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, 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.