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D−History
History · Yucca Valley

Yucca Valley’s post office opened in 1945

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #838 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Yucca Valley was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1970.

1945first post office
0on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Toglenn · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Yucca Valley began

When was Yucca Valley founded?

1945

The Yucca Valley post office opened in 1945, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1971.

First census: 3,893 in 19702020 census: 21,73881 years

How historic is Yucca Valley?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Yucca Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1971.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Yucca Valley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yucca Valley is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #838 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yucca Valley’s overall grade.
Founding era1945, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 2%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)#838 of 847

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 Yucca Valley’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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1971 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Yucca 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 Yucca Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Yucca Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Yucca 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
The story

How Yucca Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yucca Valley.

Read it all →

Serrano people and the Chemehuevi were the first inhabitants of Yucca Valley.

Norman J. Essig was key in the late 1950s in working towards establishing Yucca Valley as a place for entertainment celebrities to come and live in privacy. He personally acquired hundreds of acres of land during this time and owned and ran Glenn Realty. He helped to put in the main roads that are running throughout the town off of Hwy 62. He was personal friends with Jimmy Van Heusen the composer and gave him prime real estate in Yucca Valley to build his house which can still be seen atop the highest hill in the center of the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Yucca Valley, 1945 to 1982

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1945Post officeThe Yucca Valley post office opens
  3. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1982Born hereOmi Vaidya is born here
By decade

Yucca Valley, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Yucca Valley Aerial2013Yucca Valley AerialUSMC-110813-M-GX347-0032011USMC-110813-M-GX347-003USMC-022932011USMC-02293USMC-022592011USMC-02259Checking Photos - Flickr - brewbooks2011Checking Photos - Flickr - brewbooksUSMC-100921-M-8226J-0332010USMC-100921-M-8226J-033USMC-100921-M-8226J-0192010USMC-100921-M-8226J-019USMC-100921-M-8226J-0032010USMC-100921-M-8226J-003USMC-000352010USMC-00035Yucca Valley San Bernardino2009Yucca Valley San BernardinoPermamountfr2009PermamountfrPermamountbk2009PermamountbkDesert Christ Park2009Desert Christ ParkDesert Christ Park Trio2009Desert Christ Park TrioYucca Valley 2008r2008Yucca Valley 2008rGeococcyx californianus -California, USA-8b2007Geococcyx californianus -California, USA-8bGeococcyx californianus -California, USA-82007Geococcyx californianus -California, USA-8Geococcyx californianus -California, USA -head-82007Geococcyx californianus -California, USA -head-8
On the map

Yucca Valley on the map, 1955 to 1972

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

Yucca Valley on the 1955 USGS mapYucca Valley on the 1965 USGS mapYucca Valley on the 1972 USGS map1955Joshua Tree 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 Yucca Valley.

People over time

Yucca Valley, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00019802000202021,738

Grew from 3,893 people in 1970 to 21,738 in 2020, 5 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Joshua Tree1 historic placeC

Questions about Yucca Valley’s history

What year was Yucca Valley founded?

The Yucca Valley post office opened in 1945, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1971.

How does Yucca Valley rank for history?

Yucca Valley is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #838 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 Yucca Valley?

0.2% of Yucca Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (18), 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.