More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #685 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Chowchilla was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Chowchilla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1923.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chowchilla’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chowchilla is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #685 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chowchilla’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 Chowchilla’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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1923 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 Chowchilla’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The word "Chowchilla" is an anglicized spelling of chaushila, the name of an indigenous Yokuts people who, historically, inhabited the areas in and around Madera County.
The first post office at Chowchilla opened in 1912 and the city incorporated eleven years later, in 1923.
Chowchilla made national news on July 15, 1976, when 26 children and their school bus driver were kidnapped and held in a buried moving van at a quarry in Livermore, California. The driver and some of the children were able to escape and notify the quarry guard. All the victims returned unharmed. The quarry owner's son and two friends were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The Chowchilla post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1923.
How does Chowchilla rank for history?
Chowchilla is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #685 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 Chowchilla?
3% of Chowchilla’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (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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