More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #488 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Citrus was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Citrus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Citrus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Citrus is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #488 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Citrus’ 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 Citrus’ 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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 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 Citrus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Citrus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Pomona sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Citrus.
The story so far
Citrus, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Citrus yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Citrus is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, Citrus had a population of 10,243. It is located in the San Gabriel Valley between Azusa to the north and west, Glendora to the east, and Covina to the south. It is often referred to as "unincorporated Azusa" or "unincorporated Covina" as many street postal addresses that fall under here end in one of those two cities.
Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 10,866 to 10,243 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Citrus in 1889
Passages that mention Citrus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California. Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future ... and biographical mention of many of it1889Read the page →
Read the text
that of the above-named gentleman. He is the owner of eighty acres of rich and productive land located three-quarters of a mile west of Citrus avenue, and one-fourth of a mile south of Covina postoffice. Mr. Overholtzer purchased this land in 1885, and in the same year commenced its improvement. At the time of his purchase it was covered with a rank wild
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889 · page 583Read the page →
Read the text
that of the above-named gentleman. He is the owner of eighty acres of rich and productive land located three-quarters of a mile west of Citrus avenue, and one-fourth of a mile south of Covina postoffice. Mr. Overholtzer purchased this land in 1885, and in the same year commenced its improvement. At the time of his purchase it was covered with a rank wild
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
Citrus, 1878 to 1894
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Citrus post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Citrus rank for history?
Citrus is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #488 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 Citrus?
3% of Citrus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1957.
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), 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 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.
2019
