Gerber was platted in 1910, and named after the Gerber family, original owners of the town site. A post office has been in operation at Gerber since 1916.
In the early years, Gerber was a center supporting ranchers and alfalfa growers.
Between 1916 and 1965, Gerber was the location of a division point on the Southern Pacific Railroad between the Sacramento and
Shasta Divisions. Situated two miles north of the junction of the West Valley Line to Davis and the East Valley Line
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.