Hanford’s post office opened in 1877, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #194 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Hanford was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the Taoist Temple, the Kings County Courthouse and the Hanford Carnegie Library. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Hanford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hanford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hanford is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #194 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 Hanford’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 Hanford’s 0.7 sits above most of its state (73% of California towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Hanford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1885Sheet 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.
Famous people
53 famous people were born in Hanford
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Hanford was once north of Tulare Lake, historically the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River. The area was inhabited by the Tachi Yokuts Indians for several thousand years prior to Euro-American contact. They occupied locations along watercourses such as creeks, springs and seep areas (such as sloughs), along perennial and seasonal drainages, as well as flat ridges and terraces.
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 Hanford post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hanford rank for history?
Hanford is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #194 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 Hanford?
Three places: the Taoist Temple (listed 1972), the Kings County Courthouse (1978) and the Hanford Carnegie Library (1981).
How old are the homes in Hanford?
5% of Hanford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1987.
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), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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