More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #660 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Cutler was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: the first Cutler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cutler’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cutler is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #660 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 Cutler’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 Cutler’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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). 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 Cutler’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Rails reached Cutler in 1897. The San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad established a manned depot and offered passenger and freight service. Cutler was located at mile post 38.50 on the Visalia District. In 1899 the SF&SJV because a part of the Santa Fe Railroad. In 1914, a second rail line, one mile east of town, was laid by the Minkler Southern (a subsidiary of the Santa Fe). A connecting wye was established as well. Cutler remained an important rail junction point through the 1970s. Dwindling freight traffic caused the Santa Fe to sell the rail lines to the Tulare Valley Railroad in 1992. The rails were soon abandoned and removed.
The Cutler post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cutler rank for history?
Cutler is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #660 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 Cutler?
4% of Cutler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 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.
