Compton’s post office opened in 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #184 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Compton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listing is the Dominguez Ranch Adobe. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.
The Compton post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rosecrans (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 160 in 18702020 census: 95,740157 years
How historic is Compton?
C+
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Compton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Compton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Compton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #184 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Compton’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 Compton’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (64% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.4 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 Compton’s 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 Compton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Downey 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 Compton.
Every building
Compton, building by building, 1887–1925
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.
1887Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Famous people
50 famous people were born in Compton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias (Spanish: Provincia de las Californias), and the area was explored by the Portolá expedition in 1769–1770. In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro, a tract of over 75,000 acres (300 km2), to soldier Juan José Domínguez.
Passages that mention Compton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889Read the page →
Read the text
fOHN WESLEY GAINES, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing two and one-half miles east of the village of Compton, is one of the first settlers of this part of the county of Los Angeles, he having come hero in August, 1871, and located where he has since lived. Durini; that time he has improved a fine farm of sixty acres. Being a native of Kentucky, Mr. Gaines
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
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
fOHN WESLEY GAINES, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing two and one-half miles east of the village of Compton, is one of the first settlers of this part of the county of Los Angeles, he having come here in August, 1871, and located where he has since lived. During1 that time he has improved a fine farm of sixty acres. Being a native of Kentucky, Mr. Gaines
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
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
family of children were born. He told the writer in 1850, that he obtained permission to settle on his Hancho of San Antonio where he then lived (near the present town of Compton), in 1813, after the expiration of his term of service as a soldier. Later he obtained a formal grant of eleven leagues. Eventually, as his hoys grew up, and his flocks and herds increased
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889Read the page →
Read the text
there six months. In 1861 he moved to El Monte, where he rented land four years. lu 1865 he bought eighty acres of land where the city of Compton now stands, and was one of the original settlers of the place. He subsequently purchased 160 acres of land in San Diego County, residing on it one year, and then moving back to his Compton ranch. Mr. and Mrs.
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
Compton, 1869 to 1992
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.
The Compton post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Compton rank for history?
Compton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #184 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 Compton?
One place: the Dominguez Ranch Adobe (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Compton?
9% of Compton’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 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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.
1903