Cloverdale’s post office opened in 1857, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #200 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Cloverdale was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
The Cloverdale post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872. Another post office, Mount Olivet (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 430 in 18802020 census: 8,996169 years
How historic is Cloverdale?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cloverdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cloverdale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cloverdale is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #200 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cloverdale’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 Cloverdale’s 5.6 sits above most of its state (88% of California towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1872 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 Cloverdale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Cloverdale began as an early stagecoach stop, known as Markleville, on the Rancho Rincon de Musalacon Mexican grant. In 1856, R.B. Markle and W.J. Miller bought 759 acres (3.1 km2), which included the present site of the town, from Johnson Horrell. In 1859, James Abram Kleiser bought Markle's interest, and the town was laid out. The town was incorporated when the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad arrived in 1872. By 1878, the railroad service provided three trains a day between Cloverdale and Ferries of San Francisco Bay.
Passages that mention Cloverdale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 166Read the page →
Read the text
November 2, 1865 — A railroad company was organized in Petaluma for the purpose of building a railroad from Petaluma to Cloverdale. There were various moves and counter-moves about railroads. The question of location, and the granting of a subsidy of 85,000 a mile came to a vote on the 10th of September, 1868. The subsidy was voted, and the route from Petaluma
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 713Read the page →
Read the text
time afterward they went to the mines at Empire Gulch, in Calaveras County, and were there and at Reynolds' P'erry until 1859, when they came to Cloverdale. Here the father started the first stage line out of Cloverdale, running to Ukiah, and W. D. Sink had charge of the stable at the [Jkiah end of the line. After two years he went to ranching near Cloverdale, and his
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 1083Read the page →
Read the text
As has been stated, in 1905 he was appointed to his present pastorate. He also attends St. Peters church at Cloverdale, a mission established about the same time as the Healdsburg parish, but attended by the priests from Mendocino. He organized the congregation, built and named the church, Our Lady of Mt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911Read the page →
Read the text
1858 the city was incorporated, the lines crossing the creek and taking in East Petaluma, originally a portion of the Tom Hopper tract, purchased from General Vallejo. The building of the San Francisco and North Pacific railroad, beginning at Petaluma in 1869 and reaching Cloverdale in 1872, brought the central valleys down to the esteros. The (;ompletion of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa electric railway to Sebastopol, to the county-seat and into the splendid fruit-belt around Forestville, is drawing in the rich products of the coast country. The northern extension of this line into Mendocino county along the grand
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
Cloverdale, 1857 to 1964
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Cloverdale’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Mount Olivet, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cloverdale
1857–today
Mount Olivet
1890–1909
18501940today
1cemetery inside Cloverdale
Cloverdale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Cloverdale’s history
What year was Cloverdale founded?
The Cloverdale post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.
How does Cloverdale rank for history?
Cloverdale is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #200 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 Cloverdale?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Cloverdale Railroad Station (listed 1976, the first).
How old are the homes in Cloverdale?
2% of Cloverdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1979.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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