Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #332 of 847 in California. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Brewster House. Most of Galt was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1950.
The Galt post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.
The town is named after Galt, Ontario, the hometown of local rancher John McFarland.
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Galt is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #332 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Galt’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (69% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Galt’s history is told.
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 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galt. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Galt.
From Wikipedia’s history of Galt.
Galt was founded in 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first transcontinental railroad. The town is named after Galt, Ontario, the hometown of local rancher John McFarland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Galt, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Galt. — The town of Gait was laid out by Obed Harvey and the "Western Pacific Kailroad Company, in 1869, on the southeast quarter of section 27, on what is known as the Troy place.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereRyan Mattheus is born hereThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 1,333 people in 1950 to 25,383 in 2020, more than tenfold.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Galt’s Wikipedia page.
Galt’s post office has been open since 1869.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Galt post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Galt is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #332 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.
One place: the Brewster House (listed 1978).
1% of Galt’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1994.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), 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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