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History · San Ysidro

San Ysidro’s post office opened in 1874, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1970.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From San Ysidro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How San Ysidro began

When was San Ysidro founded?

1874

The San Ysidro post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, San Isidro (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 182 in 19702020 census: 166152 years
Founding year: the first San Ysidro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about San Ysidro’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 238 in 2000; 166 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of San Ysidro’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start San Ysidro’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandova…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

San Ysidro, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 238

Peaked at 238 in 2000; 166 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story so far

San Ysidro, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of San Ysidro yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

San Ysidro is a village in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 193 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 193 to 166 (-14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

San Ysidro, 1874 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe San Ysidro post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe San Ysidro post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910Post officeThe San Isidro post office opens
  6. 1912Post officeThe San Isidro post office closes
  7. 1922Post officeThe San Ysidro post office opens
  8. 1932Born hereWick R. Miller is born here
  9. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1940In the archiveRio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New Mexico
  11. 21st century
  12. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 238
By decade

San Ysidro, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Rio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New Mexico1940Rio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New …Wash of the Rio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro. Sandoval County, New Mexico1940Wash of the Rio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro. Sandoval …
1950s–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
On the map

San Ysidro on the map, 1939 to 1969

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

San Ysidro on the 1939 USGS mapSan Ysidro on the 1943 USGS mapSan Ysidro on the 1969 USGS map1939San Ysidro 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 San Ysidro.

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.

Rio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New Mexico
Retake this viewRio de Los Vacas at San Ysidro, Sandoval County, New Mexico, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

San Ysidro had its own post office from 1874 to 1879. Another post office, San Isidro, opened and closed inside today’s town.

San Ysidro
1874–1879
San Isidro
1910–1912
San Ysidro
1922–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside San Ysidro
San Ysidro

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

Questions about San Ysidro’s history

What year was San Ysidro founded?

The San Ysidro post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (2), 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.