Chico’s post office opened in 1851, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #113 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Chico was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 114 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Chico post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chico’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chico is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #113 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chico’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Chico ranks #217 on History.
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 Chico’s 12.1 sits above most of its state (92% of California towns have fewer) while its 124 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1860 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Chico’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Chico, building by building, 1884–1921
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 first known inhabitants of the area now known as Chico—a Spanish word meaning "little", "small", or "boy" — were the Mechoopda Maidu Native Americans. Within the boundaries of modern day Chico, there existed a Maidu village, whose name was recorded as Bah-hahp'-ke, meaning "straight tree".
The City of Chico was founded in 1860 by John Bidwell, a member of one of the first wagon trains to reach California in 1843. During the American Civil War, Camp Bidwell (named for John Bidwell, by then a brigadier general of the California Militia), was established a mile outside Chico, by Lt. Col. A. E. Hooker with a company of cavalry and two of infantry, on August 26, 1863.
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.
The Chico post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1860.
How does Chico rank for history?
Chico is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #113 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.
What is on the National Register in Chico?
9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Bidwell Mansion (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the South of Campus Neighborhood, with 114 contributing buildings. 124 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Chico?
6% of Chico’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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 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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