More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #724 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Adelanto was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1916.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Adelanto’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Adelanto is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #724 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Adelanto’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Adelanto’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1915.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Adelanto’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was originally inhabited by the Serrano Native American tribe.
Adelanto was founded in 1915 by E. H. Richardson, the inventor of what became the Hotpoint electric iron. He sold his patent and purchased land for $75,000. He had planned to develop one of the first planned communities in Southern California.
The name Adelanto means 'progress' or 'advance' in Spanish, and was first given to the post office that was established on the site in 1917.
In 1915, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Adelanto’s post office opened in 1916, and the census of 1970 counted 2,115 people here.
How does Adelanto rank for history?
Adelanto is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #724 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Adelanto?
2% of Adelanto’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1998.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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