More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #616 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Brawley was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Brawley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brawley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brawley is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #616 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brawley’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 Brawley’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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Brawley’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.
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.
The Imperial Land Company laid out the town in 1902 and named it Braly in honor of J.H. Braly, who owned the land. After Braly refused to permit the use of his name, the name was changed to Brawley. The first post office at Brawley opened in 1903.
Incorporated in 1908, it was a "tent city" of only 100 persons involved in railroads and the earliest introduction of agriculture. It had a population of 11,922 in 1950, but population growth was slow from the 1960s to the early 1990s.
Passages that mention Brawley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Imperial County, California1918 · page 15Read the page →
Read the text
canals owing to financial difficulties. But in the following year this acreage had been increased to 100,000 and the population to about 7000. In 1904 the steam railway line had been extended to Calexico, which was already a thriving trade center. The towns of Brawley and Silsbee were next reached by the canal system, and water companies Nos. 4, 5 and 7 began operations. The town of Imperial grew with marvelous rapidity, a fine hotel and various other business houses being built. About that time the Imperial Land Company became an important factor in the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Imperial County, California1918 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. W. E. Wilsie is another of these prominent pioneer settlers who have won marked success. Coming first in 1901, in the following November he laid out the streets of Brawley, which then had only two other residents. In the succeeding winter he farmed 300 acres, and the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Brawley, 1900 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Brawley post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Brawley rank for history?
Brawley is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #616 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 Brawley?
6% of Brawley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (23), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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