More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #527 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Huron was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Huron post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Huron’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Huron is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #527 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Huron’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 Huron’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 C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Huron’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community of Huron was founded in 1888 as a water stop along the Southern Pacific Railroad's western route, approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Coalinga. One of the first structures in the community was the Huron Post Office, which operated from 1877 to 1883 and then from 1886 to the present. Huron became a boomtown in the early 20th century and has grown steadily ever since.
During World War II was the site of three training landing strips called Huron Field, West Field and Indian Field, part of Lemoore Army Air Field.
Passages that mention Huron, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fresno County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1919 · page 1892Read the page →
Read the text
Edwin L. attended the country schools in his youth, and worked on the farm. In 1885 he came with his brother, George A., to California, and for seven years worked on ranches in Merced and Stanislaus Counties. In 1888 he came to the Huron section of Fresno County to build a cabin for his brother, who had homesteaded 160 acres six miles south of Huron. His brother located in Huron in 1892, where he ran a store, was justice of the peace, and postmaster. In 1898 the brother sold out his interest and moved to Vacaville, Solano County. Our subject located at Huron with his brother
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present1919 · page 2307Read the page →
Read the text
In April, 1876, he came to San Francisco, Cal., and in July of the same year to Hollister where he was employed by a sheep man and drove a band of sheep into the Cholame country in San Luis Obispo County and later into Madera and Fresno Counties. It was in 1877, that he came with a flock to Huron — to ship from the end of the new railroad. He drove a stage in 1879 from Parkfield to Soledad for one year. Having saved some money he concluded to settle down. In 1882 he located his present place — a preemption — of 160 acres and afterwards homesteaded 160 acres, the beginning of his present large hold-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno County California with Biographical Sketches1919 · page 283Read the page →
Read the text
homestead entry of 1882 covering the site of the city, with his cabin relic still standing on C Street a few years before the birth of the city. District was included in the original land grant to the Southern Pacific with an apology of a railroad completed to Huron in 1877. Curtiss came before the rails were laid to Coalinga ten years later. Coalinga’s early history is bar-
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
Huron, 1877 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Huron’s history
What year was Huron founded?
The Huron post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.
How does Huron rank for history?
Huron is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #527 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.
How old are the homes in Huron?
2% of Huron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (6), 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.
Date?
2008
2008
c. 2007
2001
