The Herald post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Conley (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,160113 years
How historic is Herald?
D−
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Herald post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Herald’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Herald is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Herald’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 Herald’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 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 Herald’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Herald was developed in 1910 as a land speculation project of the Central California Traction Company alongside the expansion of the electric interurban railway from Stockton into Sacramento. The site was roughly half way between the two cities and at the line’s junction with the Southern Pacific’s Amador Branch. The developers understood that residents of the Herald "colony" would be dependent on supplies shipped via their new line. To encourage the sale of lots, the Traction Company built a demonstration farm at the proposed townsite and ran special excursion trains there for prospective buyers.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Herald’s post office has been open since 1913. Another post office, Conley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Conley
1881–1910
Herald
1913–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Conley
Gone or out of use
Alabama SchoolschoolFlying R Airportairport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Herald’s history
What year was Herald founded?
The Herald post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Herald rank for history?
Herald is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Herald?
0.0% of Herald’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (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.
2026![Nuclear power plant in northern California [Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station]](https://images.townratings.com/story/37376/291f419782e1301f0afa-s.jpg)
2012![Nuclear power plant in northern California [Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station]](https://images.townratings.com/story/37376/ce1223b84f47eb8aa86c-s.jpg)
2012
