1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 193 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives March ARB’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, March ARB is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of March ARB’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 March ARB’s 1,516 sits above most of its state (100% of California towns have fewer) while its 193 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1917.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±15.7 points).
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 March ARB’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. The airfield was renamed March Field the following month in honor of 2nd Lieutenant Peyton C. March, Jr., the recently deceased son of then-Army Chief of Staff Peyton C. March, who was killed in an air crash in Texas just fifteen days after being commissioned.
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 1917, according to Wikidata. March ARB’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1970 counted 2,002 people here.
How does March ARB rank for history?
March ARB is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. 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 March ARB?
One place: the March Field Historic District (listed 1994).
How old are the homes in March ARB?
24% of March ARB’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±15.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (30), 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) 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.
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