History · Hercules

Hercules dates to 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #375 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Hercules was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1910.

1900founded

1on the National Register

0.1%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Hercules began

When was Hercules founded?

1900

Hercules dates its founding to 1900 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 279 in 19102020 census: 26,016126 years

How historic is Hercules?

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1914.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Hercules’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hercules is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #375 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hercules’ overall grade.

Founding era1900, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19400.1% of homes (±0.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%D National Register1 listing, 37 historic buildings, 14.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%

NewerOlder

California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 56%

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 Hercules’ 14.1 sits above most of its state (94% of California towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1900.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hercules’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hercules are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1930 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.A historic districtThe Hercules Village takes in 37 historic buildings.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1980. Watch Hercules change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hercules’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hercules’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Hercules, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hercules’ Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 37 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1980

Hercules Village

Districts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1

Bungalow1

Queen Anne1

Hercules VillageClassical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Hercules came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hercules.

Read it all →

Contra Costa County’s first inhabitants arrived in the area six to ten thousand years ago, including the Bay Miwok people and the Huichin Ohlone People; however there were no known significant settlements in the Hercules area.

ChaptersPrehistory through the 20th century Recent history and development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hercules in 1917

Passages that mention Hercules, cut from the printed page as they were published.

dent practically ever since the completion of the new building, in 1910, during which time he has been an efficient, capable manager, and estab- Hshed the first organized and regular system of accounting. The Hercules Powder Company established an emergency hospital at Hercules in 1902, which has b… — **The history of Contra Costa County, California**1917 · page 266Read the page →
Read the text
dent practically ever since the completion of the new building, in 1910, during which time he has been an efficient, capable manager, and estab- Hshed the first organized and regular system of accounting. The Hercules Powder Company established an emergency hospital at Hercules in 1902, which has been continuously conducted. Doctor A. H. White established a private hospital at Valona in 1906, which he conducted for about two months. Doctor Joseph T. Breneman estabUshed a private hospital in Martinez in 1907, which he conducted for about six months.
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

Hercules, 1900 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

20th century
1900
FoundingHercules is established
1914Post officeThe Hercules post office opens
1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1974Post officeThe Hercules post office closes
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 26,016

By decade

Hercules, decade by decade

Today18 recent

Hwy 4 Renaming Dedication Ceremony for Eddy McDonald, 1-16-14

2014Hwy 4 Renaming Dedication Ceremony for Eddy McDonald,…

2005Gelateria Naia

On the map

Hercules on the map, 1916 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hercules. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1916Mare Island sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hercules.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Hercules had its own post office from 1914 to 1974.

Hercules

1914–1974

19101970today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Herpoco

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Pinole2 historic placesB⁺RodeoIts storyC Vallejo9 historic placesB⁺

Questions about Hercules’ history

What year was Hercules founded?

In 1900, according to Wikidata. Hercules’ post office opened in 1914, and the census of 1910 counted 279 people here.

How does Hercules rank for history?

Hercules is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #375 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 Hercules?

One place: the Hercules Village (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Hercules?

0.1% of Hercules’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1988.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 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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