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History · Coalinga

A history of Coalinga,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Coalinga from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

7old images & papers
1historic places
11recent photos
From Coalinga’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Legendary bandit Joaquin Murrieta was killed in 1853 at his headquarters, Arroyo de Cantua, north of Coalinga. California Historical Landmark #344 marks the approximate site of where he was slain, near the junction of present-day State Route 33 and Route 198.

19th century20th century1983 earthquake2022 water shortage

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1900s2 items · Colinga [sic], CaliforniaLOC
c. 1914Coalinga"T's"Commons
1920–1969Nothing in the archives yet
1970s4 items · AERIAL OF CATTLE ON HUGE FEEDLOT. (FR…Commons
1980–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Coalinga’s story

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

3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewColinga [sic], California, 1909: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Coalinga

See all 17 →
Jo StaffordJo StaffordMusicHal FinneyHal FinneyScience & MedicineBill JonesBill JonesPolitics & LawBMBuddy McDonaldFilm, TV & StageDPDaryl PattersonSportsDBDon BrackenSports
By decade

Coalinga, decade by decade

1900s2 items
Colinga [sic], CaliforniaLOCColinga [sic], California1909Colinga [sic] oil fieldLOCColinga [sic] oil field1909
1910s1 item
Coalinga"T's"CommonsCoalinga"T's"c. 1914
1920s–
1960s
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
1970s4 items
AERIAL OF CATTLE ON HUGE FEEDLOT. (FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES IN THIS ASSIGNMENT, SEE FICHE NUM…CommonsAERIAL OF CATTLE ON HUGE FEEDLOT. (FROM THE DOCUMERICA-1 EX…1972OIL WASTE ON BARREN HILLSIDECommonsOIL WASTE ON BARREN HILLSIDE1972OIL WASTE ON BARREN HILLSIDECommonsOIL WASTE ON BARREN HILLSIDE1972PLANES (USED BY CALIFORNIA FARM COMMISSION) DROP POISONED GRAIN ON ACTIVE SQUIRREL COLONIES IN ORDER TO PROTECT AREA BA…CommonsPLANES (USED BY CALIFORNIA FARM COMMISSION) DROP POISONED G…1972
1980s–
1990s
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 photos
Pistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 03CommonsPistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 032023Pistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 02CommonsPistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 022023Pistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 01CommonsPistachios in Coalinga - September 2023 - Sarah Stierch 012023Los Gatos Canyon Plane Crash Victims Burial SiteCommonsLos Gatos Canyon Plane Crash Victims Burial Site2023Brightsource Energy solar plant aerial view, 2023CommonsBrightsource Energy solar plant aerial view, 20232023Aerial view of Coalinga (California) in July 2022CommonsAerial view of Coalinga (California) in July 20222022Aerial view of Coalinga (California) in July 2022 (2)CommonsAerial view of Coalinga (California) in July 2022 (2)2022Coalinga, CaliforniaCommonsCoalinga, California2015Coalinga, CaliforniaCommonsCoalinga, California2014New Coalinga Municipal Airport - CaliforniaCommonsNew Coalinga Municipal Airport - California2006Coalinga Municipal Airport (Old) - CaliforniaCommonsCoalinga Municipal Airport (Old) - California2006
National Register of Historic Places

1 historic place in Coalinga

1 place in Coalinga is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

#254
In Californiaby listings · most towns there have none
1place listed1 building
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1historic building protectedcounting each building in a district
1982first listedCoalinga Polk Street School

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Coalinga Polk Street School
Buildings

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966.
Listed 1982Coalinga Polk Street SchoolBuildingEducationArchitecture
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Colinga [sic], California (1909) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Avenal📜 Huron📜 Lemoore📜 San Joaquin

From Wikimedia Commons (16) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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