More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #424 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Kingsburg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kingsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingsburg is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #424 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingsburg’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 Kingsburg’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1873.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Kingsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Kingsburg’s post office has been open since 1894. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wheatville
1874–1875
Kingsburgh
1875–1894
Wheatville
1891–1920
Kingsburg
1894–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wineland
Gone or out of use
Bethel Temple Church of Kingsburgchurch
1cemetery inside Kingsburg
Kingsburg
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Kingsburg, building by building, 1903–1913
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.
1903Sheet 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.
Kingsburg was established as a railroad town, its site set by the Central Pacific Railroad when it completed the Valley Line in 1873. In the early 1870s, Swedish natives settled in a railroad town called "Kings River Switch". Kingsburg started out as a flag stop on the Central Pacific Railroad called Kings River Switch. In 1874 Kingsburg was called Wheatville and had a post office, later that year they changed the name to Kingsbury. During this time period, Josiah Draper and Andrew Farley each owned a quarter section, about 160 acres (65 ha), Draper on the east side of the railroad tracks and Farley on the west side of the tracks. So it was suggested that the east side be called Drapersville and the west side called Farleyville. Two years after that it became Kingsburgh and in January 1894 took on its present spelling, "Kingsburg", which was finally established as a town in 1908. By 192…
Passages that mention Kingsburg, 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 2507Read the page →
Read the text
Orland in Glenn County and worked in an almond orchard, where he ran a tractor and did general farm work. He next came back to Porterville, prospecting for a business opening, but in February, 1919, he opened his business at Kingsburg, convinced that this town offered, after all, the best possible inducements. He likes Kingsburg, and no wonder, for Kingsburg likes him, his work and products, and his general way of doing.
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 1406Read the page →
Read the text
the Linnea Cooperative Packing Association, which was established in 1900, when he became its manager. He was also the first secretary of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Kingsburg. also organized in 1900. He helped organize, too, the First National Bank of Kingsburg in 1904, and was its first, as he has been its only cashier.
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
Kingsburg, 1873 to 1988
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.
In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kingsburg’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 88 people here.
How does Kingsburg rank for history?
Kingsburg is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #424 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 Kingsburg?
6% of Kingsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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