La Verne’s post office opened in 1888, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #188 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of La Verne was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listings are the Charles E. Straight House and the DeWenter Mansion, Guest House and Grounds. Its Register listings are the Charles E. Straight House and the DeWenter Mansion, Guest House and Grounds. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1910.
The La Verne post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lordsburg (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 954 in 19102020 census: 31,334138 years
How historic is La Verne?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first La Verne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Verne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Verne is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #188 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 La Verne’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 La Verne’s 1.3 sits above most of its state (77% 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 (±1.2 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 La Verne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The European history of the area dates back to the 1830s when Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Véjar received the 15,000-acre (61 km2) Rancho San Jose land grant from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1837. The land included the present day cities Pomona, Claremont, San Dimas, Glendora, and La Verne. The adobe that Palomares built in 1837 is still preserved in Pomona as La Casa Primera de Rancho San Jose (The First House). Palomares soon moved a mile or so northeast and constructed the Ygnacio Palomares Adobe. He ensured that a nephew, Jose Dolores Palomares, secured a tract of land a mile west.
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 La Verne post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does La Verne rank for history?
La Verne is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #188 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 La Verne?
Two places: the Charles E. Straight House (listed 1992) and the DeWenter Mansion, Guest House and Grounds (1992).
How old are the homes in La Verne?
5% of La Verne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
c. 1900
Date?
2024
2021
2020
2020
2016
2012
2012
2012
2008
2006