Elk Grove dates to 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #230 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Elk Grove was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 48 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elk Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elk Grove is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #230 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 Elk Grove’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Elk Grove ranks #269 on History.
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 Elk Grove’s 2.7 sits above most of its state (83% of California towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Elk Grove’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Elk Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Elk Grove, building by building, 1884–1912
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 year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Miwoks, a Native American tribe, once inhabited the area until the Westward Expansion of the United States, in which the Miwoks were relocated to reservations. In 1808, Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga entered the region, naming the valley "Sacramento Valley" in honor of Sacramento, the "Holy Sacrament" in Spanish, giving the northerly city of Sacramento its name. A writer on Moraga's expedition wrote of the region:Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them.
Passages that mention Elk Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1923 · page 128Read the page →
Read the text
Elk Grove is a thriving town of 800 or 900 inhabitants, on the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and in the midst of a rich country, sixteen miles from Sacramento. In 1876 Julius Everson conceived the idea that it would make a good business center. Through his efforts the Elk Grove Building Company was incorporated and put up a store building,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sacramento County, California1913 · page 342Read the page →
Read the text
Elk Grove is a thriving town of seven or eight hundred inhabitants, on the line of the Southern Pacific railroad, and in the midst of a rich country, sixteen miles from Sacramento. In 1876 Julius Everson conceived the idea that it would make a good business center.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California1890Read the page →
Read the text
Elk Grove Presbyterian Church. — This church was organized February 12, 1876. The first services were held as early as 1856, in the Old Elk Grove school-house, on the Sacramento road, by the Rev. J. C. Herron, and in the present Elk Grove school-house, by the Rev. J.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1913 · page 342Read the page →
Read the text
Elk Grove is a thriving town of se\-en or eight hundred inhabitants, on the line of the Southern Pacific railroad, and in the midst of a rich country, sixteen miles from Sacramento. In 1876 Julius Everson conceived the idea that it would make a good business center.
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
Elk Grove, 1850 to 1992
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1850, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elk Grove’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1960 counted 2,205 people here.
How does Elk Grove rank for history?
Elk Grove is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #230 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 Elk Grove?
Two places: the Elk Grove Historic District (listed 1988) and the William Ehrhardt House (2003).
How old are the homes in Elk Grove?
0.4% of Elk Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 2000.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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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