Most of Biggs was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Biggs is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Biggs’ 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 Biggs’ 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 range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Biggs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Biggs’ Wikipedia page.
Every building
Biggs, building by building, 1884–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
A post office was established at Biggs Station in 1871, and the name changed to Biggs in 1884. It was incorporated in 1903. Biggs is named for Maj. Marion Biggs, who first shipped grain by rail from the town's location.
In 1877, ancestors of the scientist Linus Pauling left Missouri and travelled to California, where they lived for a time in Biggs, "a settlement composed mostly of Germans" (the ancestors in question were themselves of German descent).
In late 2002, the town's mayor received a letter from Jeff Manning, executive director of the California Milk Processor Board, proposing that the town change its name to "Got Milk?". The town council of Biggs subsequently rejected the proposal.
Biggs’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Bigg's Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bigg's Station
1871–1884
Biggs
1884–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Biggs’ history
What year was Biggs founded?
The Biggs post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does Biggs rank for history?
Biggs is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Biggs?
9% of Biggs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (12), Wikipedia, 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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