On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Castle Hill is more historic than 19% 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 Castle Hill’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 Castle Hill’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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points).
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 Castle Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The surrounding area was once inhabited by the Saklans. A Saklan village, which was possibly occupied from 1500 until 1772, is located near the mouth of Tice Creek. It contains multiple bedrock mortars used for processing acorns and other foodstuffs as well as a small spring. Its location along is not far from its confluence with the much larger Las Trampas Creek would have been advantageous to the Saklans who inhabited it. A small plaque marks the site which sits next to the bus stop at Tice Valley Boulevard and Montecillo Drive.
Castle Hill is more historic than 19% 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 Castle Hill?
5% of Castle Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1959.
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. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
