Imperial’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Imperial. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Imperial was created by the Imperial Land Company and was named by George Chaffey. Imperial's first post office opened in 1901. Imperial incorporated in 1904. The first mayor of Imperial was Allison Peck.
The town-site of Imperial was plotted in 1902 for home and commercial businesses. Its first buildings included a printing press, drug store, grocery store, brick building, and church. The city can also boast of having the first school in the valley and the first Chamber of Commerce.
The City of Imperial was incorporated July 12, 1904, thus being the first city in the valley to incorporate. The city was originally thought to become the county seat, but lost out to the City of El Centro in 1907.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Imperial’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Imperial’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewHotel Imperial, Imperial County, …, c. 1910: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Imperial, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
the same place, years apart
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1913 · Commons2015 · Commons
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.