Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Del Rey was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1980.
The Del Rey post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Clifton (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Del Rey is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Del Rey’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Del Rey’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Del Rey. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Del Rey.
From Wikipedia’s history of Del Rey.
Originally called Clifton, the place was renamed by the railroad in 1898 to Del Rey, after the Rancho del Rey on which the station was located. Del Rey is a Spanish phrase meaning "of the king". A post office opened in 1885. The name Clifton honored Clift Wilkinson, town founder.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Del Rey, cut from the printed page as they were published.
tial and most successful Californian rancher in his own name and right, on one of the small "show-places" in the county, is W. L. Olinger, who lives with his good wife and family on his forty-acre ranch one mile west and half a mile north of Del Rey. Not long ago he built a stucco residence, and those who have seen it declare it to be ideal for its purpose. Mr. Olinger came to Del Rey, at that time called Clifton, in the fall of 1890; and since then he has witnessed the working of more than one miracle in the marvelous development of Central California.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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 sheet.
1917Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 950 and 1,639 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Del Rey’s Wikipedia page.
Del Rey’s post office has been open since 1898. Another post office, Clifton, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Del Rey post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Del Rey is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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.
8% of Del Rey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1987.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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.
