Introduction to Historical Markers in California

California's State Historic Landmarks and Historical Marker Systems

Oct 6, 2009 Linda Gentile

From Indians to Gold Rush miners, pioneers to missions, California's rich history is preserved in multiple historical markers on state and national landmark registers.

Official California historical markers are large bronze plaques with a classic rounded marker shape. Each features the California bear at the apex, flanked by a star on either side. Almost all the markers are mounted flush into a wall, sidewalk or custom base. Rarely, one will be mounted on two poles, as can be seen in the Filoli plaque. Not all sites have plaques, and some receive private, non-standard plaques.

When California first started designating historic landmarks in 1932, it did so rather quirkily, without specific standards. The first standards were drawn up around 1949, followed by the more stringent ones still used today, in 1970. It is for this reason that some early California historic landmarks, notably many of the Gaspar de Portola campgrounds, sometimes possess neither a plaque nor an extant site, and others are based on nothing but local legend.

This notwithstanding, as of 2009 there were over 1040 numbered landmarks in California, all under the purview of the Office of Historic Preservation.

Thematic Designations Extend California Historic Landmarks

Some California landmarks are thematic, which means they encompass several different sites. Taking this into consideration, California has over 1100 actual landmarks.

One example is the thematic designation for the detention camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II; another is the folk art series, which includes the junk-yard house of Nitt Witt Ridge in Cambria and the Desert View Tower in the middle of the Mojave Desert. There are more.

A list of California landmarks is found at the OHP site; there is also a guide book, Guide to California Historical Landmarks, available from the State Historic Preservation Office. It is an interesting volume, but was last updated in 1995.

Other Kinds of Historical Markers and Landmarks in California

The Office of Historic Preservation oversees a second landmark-and-marker system in California. These sites, the Registered Points of Historic Interest, designate places which are important at a local, but not necessarily state-wide, level. Should a site later prove worthy of state landmark status, it stops being an RPHI. Some of these sites are plaqued; others are not. A partial list is available online.

California is not, by any means, short of historic landmarks. The OHP lists RPHIs, National Register entries and state historic markers from landmark #770 onwards to the California Register of Historical Resources. As of October 2009, California also boasted over 2,400 National Register entries and more than 130 National Historic Sites. These often come with bronze plaques, or plaques placed by local organizations. On top of these are numerous city and private systems.

"Historical marker ahead" signs may well draw the visitor off the highway then leave him scratching his head about which way to turn. For this was the guide book invented. But once he finds his target, he'll quickly realize just how rich the historical pickings in California are.