Barstow’s post office opened in 1886, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #286 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Barstow was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Harvey House Railroad Depot. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1950.
The Barstow post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1947. Another post office, Waterman (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 6,135 in 19502020 census: 25,415140 years
How historic is Barstow?
C
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Barstow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1947.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Barstow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barstow is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #286 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barstow’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 Barstow’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (69% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1947.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Barstow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Prehistoric Native American tribes inhabited the region as long as 3,000 years ago. The Native Americans hunted, fished and gathered turquoise. The indigenous people left hardly any discernible footprints along faint pathways as they traveled up to the Mexican territory to trade goods. The written history of the Mojave Valley dates back to the 1700s and the missionary excursions of Spanish Franciscan friar Francisco Garcés. Garcés followed the earliest faint footpaths to the Mojave River Valley and from there across the desert around Barstow on his way to Spanish missions beyond the mountains of California.
The Barstow post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1947.
How does Barstow rank for history?
Barstow is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #286 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.
What is on the National Register in Barstow?
One place: the Harvey House Railroad Depot (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Barstow?
3% of Barstow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (13), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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