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C−History
History · El Cerrito

El Cerrito dates to 1906, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #432 of 847 in California. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1920.

1906founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From El Cerrito’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How El Cerrito began

When was El Cerrito founded?

1906

El Cerrito dates its founding to 1906 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,505 in 19202020 census: 25,962120 years

How historic is El Cerrito?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1909.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives El Cerrito’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, El Cerrito is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #432 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of El Cerrito’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194013.5% of homes (±2.3) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 49%

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 El Cerrito’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 (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1906.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 El Cerrito’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18958 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1993. Watch El Cerrito change.Old housesHalf of El Cerrito’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start El Cerrito’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how El Cerrito’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewArroyobaxter: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

El Cerrito on the map, 1895 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of El Cerrito. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

El Cerrito on the 1895 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1915 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1947 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1959 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1968 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1973 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1980 USGS mapEl Cerrito on the 1993 USGS map1895San Francisco 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 El Cerrito.

The story

How El Cerrito came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of El Cerrito.

Read it all →

El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They settled in what was then Don Víctor Castro's Rancho San Pablo, adjacent to the ranch owned by the family of Luís María Peralta, the Rancho San Antonio. A post office opened at the settlement in 1909 and the refugee camp became known as Rust, after Wilhelm F. Rust, its first postmaster. The village's residents did not care for the name and changed it to El Cerrito (meaning "little hill" or "knoll") in 1916, in reference to nearby Albany Hill. A year later, El Cerrito was incorporated as a village with 1,500 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

El Cerrito, 1895 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906
    FoundingEl Cerrito is established
  5. 1909Post officeThe Rust post office opens
  6. 1916Post officeThe Rust post office closes
  7. 1916Post officeThe El Cerrito post office opens
  8. 1935Post officeThe El Cerrito post office closes
  9. 1951Born hereKim Gillan is born here
  10. 1955Born hereEric Allman is born here
  11. 1977Born hereTess Taylor is born here
  12. 1980In the archiveArroyobaxter
By decade

El Cerrito, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Arroyobaxter1980Arroyobaxter
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Wildflower Area at Baxter Creek Gateway Park2013Wildflower Area at Baxter Creek Gateway ParkPolice parking at osh2013Police parking at oshEl Cerrito del Norte2013El Cerrito del NorteCerrito Theater San Pablo Avenue2013Cerrito Theater San Pablo AvenueCerrito Theater San Pablo Avenue (cropped)2013Cerrito Theater San Pablo Avenue (cropped)Canyon trail park berry2013Canyon trail park berryAlbany hill park cross2013Albany hill park crossLibraryagogo2011LibraryagogoFree book store in2010Free book store inNationsoutside2009NationsoutsideNationsinside2009NationsinsideBaxterCreek42009BaxterCreek4BaxterCreek32009BaxterCreek3BaxterCreek22009BaxterCreek2BaxterCreek2009BaxterCreekShops in2005Shops inEl Cerrito banner22005El Cerrito banner2
Every building

El Cerrito, building by building, 1926

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.

El Cerrito fire insurance map, 1926, sheet 11926Sheet 1 of 15
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Arroyobaxter
Retake this viewArroyobaxter, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on El Cerrito’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

El Cerrito, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019201940196019802000202025,962

Grew from 1,505 people in 1920 to 25,962 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on El Cerrito’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in El Cerrito

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Eric AllmanAmerican computer programmer · b. 1955
Kim GillanAmerican politician · b. 1951
T
Tess TaylorAmerican poet · b. 1977
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

El Cerrito had its own post office from 1916 to 1935. Another post office, Rust, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rust
1909–1916
El Cerrito
1916–1935
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Western Baptist Bible Collegeschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Richmond12 historic placesB−KensingtonIts storyB+Albany1 historic placeB

Questions about El Cerrito’s history

What year was El Cerrito founded?

In 1906, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. El Cerrito’s post office opened in 1909, and the census of 1920 counted 1,505 people here.

How does El Cerrito rank for history?

El Cerrito is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #432 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 El Cerrito?

14% of El Cerrito’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1956.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (18), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.