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History · Mesa Vista

Mesa Vista’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Mesa Vista. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Mesa Vista (corruption of Vista de la Mesa, Spanish for "View of Table") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alpine County, California, United States. The population was 217 at the 2020 census, up from 200 at the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 200 to 217 (+9%). Half of its homes were built before 1994.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mesa Vista yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Mesa Vista’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from Mesa VistaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Mesa Vista.Meet them →
By decade

Mesa Vista, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Mesa Vista is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Mesa Vista has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Jobs Peak Ranch in Gardnerville Ranchos, 6.5 miles away.

Mesa Vista and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Mesa Vista. Tap a dot.
Jobs Peak RanchWebster Schoolhouse, OldAlpine County CourthouseWilhelm and William Lampe RanchGardnerville Elementary SchoolGardnerville Branch Jail

Closest to Mesa Vista

Jobs Peak RanchGardnerville Ranchos · Building6.5miWebster Schoolhouse, OldMarkleeville · Building8.1miAlpine County CourthouseMarkleeville · Built 19288.1miWilhelm and William Lampe RanchGardnerville · District9.1miGardnerville Elementary SchoolGardnerville · Building9.6mi

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. Jobs Peak Ranch’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Mesa Vista?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Mesa Vista’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

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 South Lake Tahoe📜 Carson📜 Yerington📜 Truckee
The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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