Half of Cambrian Park’s homes were built after 1956
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #640 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Cambrian Park was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1956. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambrian Park is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #640 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambrian Park’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 Cambrian Park’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Cambrian Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The name "Cambrian Park" was used regularly since the 1950s by the then San Jose Mercury and San Jose News newspapers (now The San Jose Mercury News) to refer to a portion of the Union school and Cambrian school areas, the latter school named in the 1870s by ranch hand David Lewis of the Jeremiah D. Casey Ranch for Cambria, the is the Latin name for Wales (Welsh, Cymru), the country of Lewis's birth. Due to the relative isolation of adjacent population centers within then rural Santa Clara County, place names and later, municipalities, were often defined by their public school service boundaries. These indistinct boundaries persisted until WWII, after which a rapidly expanding population and demand for municipal services resulted in more precise boundaries being established. The Cambrian Park area continues to be recognized as a distinct, partly unincorporated neighborhood bordering the…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cambrian Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953San Jose West sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cambrian Park.
People over time
Cambrian Park, census by census
Between 2,998 and 3,719 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cambrian Park’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Cambrian Park
Nobody well known was born in Cambrian Park itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Cambrian Park is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #640 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 Cambrian Park?
2% of Cambrian Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 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.
