Duarte’s post office opened in 1882, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #259 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Duarte was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Duarte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Duarte’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Duarte is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #259 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 Duarte’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 Duarte’s 0.9 sits above most of its state (75% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±1.6 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 Duarte’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Around 500 B.C., a band of Shoshonean-speaking Indians established settlements in what is now the San Gabriel Valley. These Native Americans were dubbed the Gabrieliño Indians (after San Gabriel, the local mission) by early Spanish colonial explorers, but now generally prefer to be called the Tongva. Since the San Gabriel Valley area was home to large numbers of oak trees such as coast live oak and interior live oak, a staple of the Tongva diet was an acorn meal made by boiling acorn flour.
Passages that mention Duarte, cut from the printed page as they were published.
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
Up to 1878 the Duarte people had claimed onehalf the water from the San Gabriel River; but a serious controversy arising between them and the Azusan settlers over their respective water rights, the dispute was finally and permanently settled by Duarte accepting one-third of the flow. In 1881 the water rights of the Duarte settlers were consolidated into two incorpora-
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 it1889 · page 801Read the page →
Read the text
chased eighteen and three-fourths acres of the land he had previously rented. This tract is located on Mountain avenue, about two miles southeast of Duarte, and the same distance southwest of Monrovia, in the Duarte school district. He continued his farming operations in the Duarte district until 1875, and then moved to Ventura County, where he engaged in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889Read the page →
Read the text
one of the departments of their works. He remained in the employ of that company for about three years, or until 1887, when he came to Duarte and established the depot store, which he successfully conducted until he entered into his present partner^iip- Mr. Payne has realestate interests in Duarte, and is thoroughly identified with its best interests. Progressive
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
Duarte, 1882 to 1990
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 Duarte post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Duarte rank for history?
Duarte is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #259 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 Duarte?
One place: the Fox Fullerton Theatre Complex (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Duarte?
3% of Duarte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (3), 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.
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