More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #718 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Diamond Springs was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1980.
The Diamond Springs post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mud Spring (1851) and Diamond Spring (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,287 in 19802020 census: 11,34576 years
How historic is Diamond Springs?
D
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Diamond Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Diamond Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Diamond Springs is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #718 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 Diamond Springs’ 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 Diamond Springs’ 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 (±2.4 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 Diamond Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
This town, settled in 1848, derived its name from its crystal clear springs. Among the most gold-rich locations in the region, the area produced a 25-pound nugget, one of the largest ever found in El Dorado County. Its most thriving period was in 1851 and, through its lumber, lime production, and agriculture, Diamond Springs has retained some of its early importance.
A post office was established at Diamond Spring in 1853; the name was changed to Diamond Springs in 1950.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Diamond Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Placerville sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Diamond Springs.
People over time
Diamond Springs, census by census
Grew from 2,287 people in 1980 to 11,345 in 2020, 4 times over.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Diamond Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Diamond Springs post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Diamond Springs rank for history?
Diamond Springs is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #718 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 Diamond Springs?
4% of Diamond Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.
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, 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.
