1 of Meiners Oaks’ places is on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #124 of 847 in California. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Charles M. Pratt House. Most of Meiners Oaks was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listing is the Charles M. Pratt House. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meiners Oaks is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #124 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Meiners Oaks’ 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 Meiners Oaks’ 2.5 sits above most of its state (82% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Meiners Oaks’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
German native John Meiners had immigrated to America in 1848 and established a successful brewing operation in Milwaukee. In the 1870s, he acquired the land that would become Meiners Oaks as payment for a debt. When a friend and business associate, Edward D. Holton, travelled through California and investigated the land, Meiners learned that he had acquired one of the largest oak groves on flat ground in southern California. Upon arriving in person, Meiners also found the climate agreeable, and established a ranch. Several hundred acres, north of the oak grove, were used quite successfully to grow lemons, oranges, plums, apricots and apples, as well as oats, wheat, barley and more. Meiners lived on his ranch intermittently until his death in 1898.
Meiners Oaks is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #124 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 Meiners Oaks?
One place: the Charles M. Pratt House (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Meiners Oaks?
8% of Meiners Oaks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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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