Emeryville’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #180 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Emeryville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Remar Bakery. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Emeryville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Emeryville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Emeryville is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #180 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Emeryville’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 Emeryville’s 0.8 sits above most of its state (74% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Emeryville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before the colonization of the area by Spain in 1776, this area was long the site of indigenous settlements. The historic Ohlone Native Americans encountered the Spaniards and later European colonists. They thrived on the rich resources of the bayside location: gathered clams from the mudflats, oysters from the rocky areas, caught fish, and hunted a variety of game. In addition, women gathered acorns from the local oak trees, roots, and fruit. The Ohlone discarded clam and oyster shells in a single place, over time creating a huge mound, now known as the Emeryville Shellmound.
Passages that mention Emeryville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Illustrated album of Alameda County, California1893 · page 28Read the page →
Read the text
portion of the commonwealth of California, many bridges are necessarj', and one of the leading incorporations in this industry is the California Bridge Cornpan}', with works at Emeryville, in conjunction with the Judson Works. The bridge company puts up from thirty to forty bridges annually, its work not being confined to California, but many of the bridges crossing streams in other States and Territories, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Illustrated album of Alameda County, California1893Read the page →
Read the text
In 1884 the Paraffine Paint Company located its works near Shell Mound Park, at Emeryville. The company manufactures a paint adapted to the preservation of wood and ironwork, tin, roofs, bridges, etc.
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
Emeryville, 1884 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 Emeryville post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.
How does Emeryville rank for history?
Emeryville is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #180 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 Emeryville?
One place: the Remar Bakery (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Emeryville?
8% of Emeryville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (21), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 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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