Claremont’s post office opened in 1887, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #89 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Claremont was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 48 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Claremont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Claremont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Claremont is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #89 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Claremont’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 Claremont’s 15.8 sits above most of its state (94% of California towns have fewer) while its 58 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±1.9 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 Claremont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to the establishment of the city of Claremont, the area was frequented by the Serrano, Cahuilla, and Tongva for thousands of years. The Tongva established villages in the area as early as 7000 B.C. and thrived from the freshwater of what the Spanish would call the San Antonio Creek. One well-documented Tongva village, known as Torojoatngna, was located at a place called "Indian Hill" by early American settlers. The village was active until the nineteenth century, housing nearly 200 residents in 1870, yet was eventually abandoned after being ravaged by a smallpox epidemic by 1883.
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 Claremont post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Claremont rank for history?
Claremont is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #89 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 Claremont?
8 listings: 5 buildings and 3 historic districts, the Russian Village District, the Scripps College for Women and the Intercultural Council Houses, with 48 contributing buildings. 58 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Claremont?
9% of Claremont’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 1966.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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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