More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #718 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Lucerne was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Lucerne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lucerne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lucerne is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #718 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lucerne’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 Lucerne’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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 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 Lucerne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lucerne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lucerne (formerly Clear Lake Beach, located in the area called Sikom by the Eastern Pomo) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. Lucerne is located 7.25 miles (12 km) east-northeast of Lakeport, at an elevation of 1329 feet (405 m). The population was 235 in 1871, 3,067 at the 2010 census, and 3,266 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1926. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,067 to 3,266 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lucerne’s history
What year was Lucerne founded?
The Lucerne post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lucerne rank for history?
Lucerne is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #718 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 Lucerne?
2% of Lucerne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 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.
