Modesto’s post office opened in 1870, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #214 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Modesto was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
The Modesto post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Claus (1902), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,693 in 18802020 census: 218,464156 years
How historic is Modesto?
C+
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Modesto post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Modesto’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Modesto is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #214 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 Modesto’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Modesto ranks #265 on History.
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 Modesto’s 0.2 sits above most of its state (65% of California towns have fewer) while its 4 listings 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 (±0.5 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 Modesto’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The City of Modesto was originally a stop on the railroad connecting Sacramento to Los Angeles, built by Central Pacific Railroad. When Modesto was founded in 1870, the railroad company co-founder Mark Hopkins Jr. suggested to name it after his associate the banker William C. Ralston. Ralston asked that another name be found, and a railroad employee exclaimed loudly in Spanish that Ralston was a modest man. The railroad company co-founder Charles Crocker then named the town Modesto in recognition of Ralston's modesty.
Passages that mention Modesto, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Stanislaus County California1921 · page 241Read the page →
Read the text
In 1870, after the Southern Pacific Railroad had built its line through and laid out the town of Modesto, the whole countryside was on wheels for a time, as the residents of Paradise and other outlying communities, seeing that the new town would become the commercial center of this district, moved their stores and dwellings there.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Stanislaus County California1921 · page 1130Read the page →
Read the text
he sold out and for seven years was engaged in mining on Rose Creek, Tuolumne County. On returning to Modesto he purchased the old Tuolumne City ferry, which he operated until the bridge was completed in the fall of 1905, and then had charge of the bridge until 1909, when he resigned. After spending a year in Santa Maria he returned to Modesto, and since then has been in the employ of J. Walker Baker, the son of C. C. iBaker, his first employer in California. He is a member of Wilder Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Modesto, and also of the Encampment, as well as the Knights of Pythias. He is now among the oldest settlers in these parts, is well posted on the
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
Modesto, 1870 to 1982
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Modesto post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Modesto rank for history?
Modesto is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #214 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 Modesto?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the McHenry Mansion (listed 1978, the first).
How old are the homes in Modesto?
5% of Modesto’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
