Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #744 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Boron was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1965 on and the census since 1970.
The Boron post office opened in 1938, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kern (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boron is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #744 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Boron’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boron’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Boron.
Borate evaporites in the form of colemanite was first reported in 1913 during drilling of a water well. Claims were acquired by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and exploration continued. In 1925 commercial colemanite production began. In the 1920s and 30s borates were produced from the Baker and West Baker mines.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2022Liquor, Ice Cream, CRV Recycling - March 2022 - Sarah…
2018Desert Heat
2014Exit 199 to Boron (road sign)
2012Boron mine pit
2012Boron caboose & hopper 2102
2012Untitled photo
2011NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 905 (front) and 911 (…
2011NASA ED11-0237-18 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
2008Old Town Boron entrance sign
2008Lectra haul dump truck
2006Domingo'sNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boron’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,999 and 2,253 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Boron’s Wikipedia page.
Boron’s post office has been open since 1938. Another post office, Kern, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Boron post office opened in 1938, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Boron is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #744 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.
1% of Boron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
