Half of Bear Valley Springs’ homes were built after 1990
More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #768 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Bear Valley Springs was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bear Valley Springs is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #768 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bear Valley Springs’ 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 Bear Valley Springs’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Bear Valley Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
While the nation had pushed to the western coast, the land the Fickert family settled in 1869 was still isolated and remote. For centuries, it had been the realm of Native Americans. Over the years, after purchasing squatter's rights to 160 acres (0.65 km2), the Fickerts expanded their holdings until, by the 1900s their ranch encompassed a vast region of 25,000 acres (100 km2).
By 1959, the last of the immediate Fickert family were gone, joining their kin who had gone before in the tiny family cemetery just up the hill from the main house.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bear Valley Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Cummings Mountain sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bear Valley Springs.
People over time
Bear Valley Springs, census by census
Grew from 1,593 people in 1990 to 5,592 in 2020, 3 times over.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bear Valley Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Bear Valley Springs is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #768 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 Bear Valley Springs?
0.0% of Bear Valley Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2016
2016
