Yorba Linda’s post office opened in 1912, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #469 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Yorba Linda was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1960.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yorba Linda is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #469 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 Yorba Linda’s overall grade.
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 Yorba Linda’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (70% of California towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1967.
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 Yorba Linda’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area is the home of the Tongva, Luiseño, and Juaneño tribal nations, who were there "as early as 4,000 years ago." The Tongva defined their world as Tovaangar, a nation which "extended from Palos Verdes to San Bernardino, from Saddleback Mountain to the San Fernando Valley" and included the entire territory of present-day Yorba Linda. Along with Western civilization, Spanish colonization between 1769 and 1840 brought disease, non-native species, and commercial livestock into the area, which dramatically altered the ecological balance of the region and caused the Tongva to resettle around three Catholic missions. The village of Hutuknga was located in the area of Yorba Linda.
Passages that mention Yorba Linda, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Orange County, California1921 · page 596Read the page →
Read the text
Meanwhile, he contracted for the making and grading of roads and the care of the water reservoirs for Yorba Linda, and altogether he spent fifteen years in the service of the Santa Fe Railroad, grading and making crossings, and also graded the streets for the town of Placentia when it was laid out. Of late years he has had full charge as superintendent of some ninety acres in Yorba Linda, and has set out much of this to lemons, using nursery stock developed on his own ranch. Having recently sold his five-acre ranch, he intends to locate on more open land and to improve a still larger area. This has not weakened Mr. Johnson's interest in Placentia and Yorba Linda in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Orange County, California1921 · page 569Read the page →
Read the text
operations of the Janss Investment Company. During this period he worked on some of the largest buildings ever erected in Los ."Xngeles and San Francisco, and made a reputation for himself for this thorough, high-grade work. In 1910 Mr. Bridge came to Yorba Linda and purchased ten acres of bare land and immediately set out his nursery stock, from which his present grove of lemons was planted. In these days there was no water company at Yorba Linda and Mr. Bridge was compelled to haul water in wagons both for irrigation and household purposes, until the present pipe line was installed. All of Mr. Bridge's brothers and sisters are interested in land at Yorba
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.
Timeline
Yorba Linda, 1896 to 2001
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Yorba Linda post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1967.
How does Yorba Linda rank for history?
Yorba Linda is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #469 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 Yorba Linda?
Three places: the Richard Nixon Birthplace (listed 1971), the Bixby-Bryant Ranch House (1997) and the Pacific Electric Railway Company Depot (1979).
How old are the homes in Yorba Linda?
0.7% of Yorba Linda’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), 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), 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.
★ Landmark
1980
1981
2026
2026
2026
2026
