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History · Indio

A history of Indio,
since 1873

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

1873established
8old images & papers
4recent photos
From Indio’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Indio is within the ancestral lands of the Desert Cahuilla Indians whose headquarters are in nearby Thermal, California.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1873Established
1930s5 items · Farmworker's labor home. Indio, Calif…LOC
1940s3 items · At the farmworkers' community at Indi…LOC
1950–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Indio’s story

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

2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFarmworker's labor home. Indio, C…, 1937: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Indio

See all 22 →
VMVanessa MarcilFilm, TV & StageOscar LoyaOscar LoyaMusicStan Van GundyStan Van GundySportsDDDebi DerryberryFilm, TV & StageRandy CaballeroRandy CaballeroSportsTroy DowningTroy DowningPolitics & Law
By decade

Indio, decade by decade

1930s5 items
Farmworker's labor home. Indio, CaliforniaLOCFarmworker's labor home. Indio, California1937Farmworker's labor home. Indio, CaliforniaLOCFarmworker's labor home. Indio, California1937Oklahoma sharecropper and family entering California. Stalled on the desert near Indio, CaliforniaLOCOklahoma sharecropper and family entering California. Stall…1937Field worker irrigating alfalfa and barley fields. The field produces eleven cuttings of alfalfa a year, yields nine to…LOCField worker irrigating alfalfa and barley fields. The fiel…1937Entering Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp for migratory laborers at Indio. Coachella Valley, CaliforniaLOCEntering Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp for migrat…1939
1940s3 items
At the farmworkers' community at Indio, California, the newly-acquired school bus picks up one of its three loads of fi…LOCAt the farmworkers' community at Indio, California, the new…1941Indio, California. A half-ton jeep rolling over the desert at the desert training centerLOCIndio, California. A half-ton jeep rolling over the desert …1942Indio, California. Jeep and crew on a reconnaisance patrol in the desert of the desert training centerLOCIndio, California. Jeep and crew on a reconnaisance patrol …1942
1950s–
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
Today4 photos
James sclavunosCommonsJames sclavunos2016Highway 395, Indio, United States (Unsplash)CommonsHighway 395, Indio, United States (Unsplash)20162013, View South from Former Gas StationCommons2013, View South from Former Gas Station2013California Landmark No. 985 California-Arizona Maneuver AreaCommonsCalifornia Landmark No. 985 California-Arizona Maneuver Area2010
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Indio is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Indio has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Miles C. Bates House in Palm Desert, 8.2 miles away.

Indio and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Indio. Tap a dot.
Miles C. Bates HouseKenaston HouseMartinez Historical DistrictMartinez Canyon RockhouseArthur Elrod HouseSandcliff

Closest to Indio

Miles C. Bates HousePalm Desert · Building8.2miKenaston HouseRancho Mirage · Building10.7miMartinez Historical DistrictOasis · District12.6miMartinez Canyon RockhouseLa Quinta · Building16.4miArthur Elrod HousePalm Springs · Built 196816.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Miles C. Bates House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Indio?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Indio’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Farmworker's labor home. Indio, California (1937) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Indian Wells📜 Coachella📜 La Quinta📜 Palm Desert

From Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (8). 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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