More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #705 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Clearlake was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1990.
The Clearlake post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1980. Another post office, Knocti (1925), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 11,804 in 19902020 census: 16,685103 years
How historic is Clearlake?
D
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clearlake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1980.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clearlake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clearlake is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #705 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 Clearlake’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 Clearlake’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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1980.
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 →
The Clearlake post office opened in 1923, under the name of "Konocti" then the name was changed to Clearlake Highlands until the town's incorporation in 1981 when the official name became City of Clearlake.
The first inhabitants of Clearlake were the Pomo Indians, who named many of the area's features, including Mount Konocti. Beginning in 1821, enslavement and mistreatment by Spanish soldiers and missionaries, Mexican land barons, European settlers, and gold diggers, combined with a lack of natural immunity to European diseases, resulted in a massive wave of deaths. The result of this was massive amounts of land freed up for the white settlers who arrived during the gold rush.
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 Clearlake post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1980.
How does Clearlake rank for history?
Clearlake is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #705 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 Clearlake?
2% of Clearlake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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