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History · Pomona

Pomona dates to 1869, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pomona began, and where its name came from

When was Pomona founded?

1869

Pomona dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 259 in 18802020 census: 884157 years

How did Pomona get its name?

Pomona was named for Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pomona’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 Pomona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18854 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1983. Watch Pomona change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pomona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pomona’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Pomona on the map, 1885 to 1983

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

Pomona on the 1885 USGS mapPomona on the 1956 USGS mapPomona on the 1973 USGS mapPomona on the 1983 USGS map1885Lawrence sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pomona.

The story

How Pomona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pomona.

Read it all →

Pomona was founded in about 1869. It was named for Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pomona, 1869 to 1885

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingPomona is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Pomona post office opens
  4. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Pomona, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 923

Between 259 and 923 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Pomona’s history

What year was Pomona founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pomona’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 259 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 Wikipedia, 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.