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C+History
History · Norwalk

Norwalk’s post office opened in 1877, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #282 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Norwalk was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listings are the Paddison Ranch Buildings and the Darius David Johnston House. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1960.

1877first post office
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Norwalk’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Norwalk began

When was Norwalk founded?

1877

The Norwalk post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1957. Another post office, Corvallis (1875), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 88,739 in 19602020 census: 102,773149 years

How historic is Norwalk?

C+

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Norwalk post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1957.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Norwalk’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Norwalk is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Norwalk’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.8% of homes (±0.9) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 67%

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 Norwalk’s 0.2 sits above most of its state (65% of California towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1957.

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 Norwalk’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18968 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Norwalk change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1897–1940.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1922, drew every building in Norwalk.Old housesHalf of Norwalk’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · On the map

Norwalk on the map, 1896 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Norwalk. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Norwalk on the 1896 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1902 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1923 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1949 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1951 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1965 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1972 USGS mapNorwalk on the 1981 USGS map1896Downey sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Norwalk.

By decade

Norwalk, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s7 items
Bethany congregational Church Illustration1897Bethany congregational Church IllustrationNorwalk co-operative creamery Illustration1897Norwalk co-operative creamery IllustrationStar creamery Illustration1897Star creamery IllustrationFront Street in Norwalk, California circa 19001900Front Street in Norwalk, California circa 1900Front Street near Clark Street, Norwalk, California, circa 19091900Front Street near Clark Street, Norwalk, California, …Front street looking east1905Front street looking eastFront street men1905Front street men
1910s–1940s5 items
Front street1910Front streetNorwalk depot1910Norwalk depotNorwalk depot1910Norwalk depotFront Street circa 19201920Front Street circa 1920Two valuable resources of the Southwest--rich oil fields and fine grazing land. In this scene near Norwalk, California …1940Two valuable resources of the Southwest--rich oil fie…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Carmelas (Carmelas Varrio Locos) Street Gang2023Carmelas (Carmelas Varrio Locos) Street GangShaheed1500WR2011Shaheed1500WRCAMap-doton-Norwalk2006CAMap-doton-Norwalk
Every building

Norwalk, building by building, 1898–1922

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.

Norwalk fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Norwalk came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Norwalk.

Read it all →

The area known as "Norwalk" was first home to the Shoshonean Native American tribe. They survived primarily on honey, an array of berries, acorns, sage, squirrels, rabbits and birds. Their huts were part of the Sejat Indian village.

In the late 1760s, settlers and missions flourished under Spanish rule with the famous El Camino Real trail traversing the area. Manuel Nieto, a Spanish soldier, received a Spanish land grant (Rancho Los Nietos) in 1784 that included Norwalk.

ChaptersAirplane disasterThe Hargitt HouseThe Sproul House

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Norwalk in 1889

Passages that mention Norwalk, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Angeles; and the son, Frank, married Mamie Bell. He is an electrician, and was station agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at Norwalk for eight years, and fifteen years in their employ. Mr. Bishop is a gentleman well known by railroad men, and is highly respected by all who know him.
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California1889Read the page →
Read the text

Angeles; and the son, Frank, married Mamie Bell. He is an electrician, and was station agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at Norwalk for eight years, and fifteen years in their employ. Mr. Bishop is a gentleman well known by railroad men, and is highly respected by all who know him.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Norwalk, in this township, is a flourishing village, seventeen miles from Los Angeles, on the Santa Ana branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. There are numerous artesian wells, alfalfa fields and corn-fields. Thoroughbred stock is profitably and extensively raised. Near this place is the site of…
An illustrated history of Los Angeles County, California. Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future ... and biographical mention of many of it1889Read the page →
Read the text

Norwalk, in this township, is a flourishing village, seventeen miles from Los Angeles, on the Santa Ana branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. There are numerous artesian wells, alfalfa fields and corn-fields. Thoroughbred stock is profitably and extensively raised. Near this place is the site of the oldest ostrich farm in America, established by Dr. C. J. Sketchel

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

Norwalk, 1875 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Corvallis post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Corvallis post office closes
  4. 1877Post officeThe Norwalk post office opens
  5. 1891BuiltDarius David Johnston House is built
  6. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1897In the archiveBethany congregational Church Illustration
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveFront Street in Norwalk, California circa 1900
  10. 1910In the archiveFront street
  11. 1920In the archiveFront Street circa 1920
  12. 1940In the archiveTwo valuable resources of the Southwest--rich oil fields and fine grazing land. In this s…
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bethany congregational Church Illustration
Retake this viewBethany congregational Church Illustration, 1897

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Norwalk’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Norwalk

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Paddison Ranch Buildings
Paddison Ranch BuildingsDarius David Johnston House, built 1891
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Eastlake2
Victorian1
Paddison Ranch BuildingsVictorian
Darius David Johnston HouseEastlake · Built 1891

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Norwalk, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,0001960198020002020Peak: 105,549

Between 84,901 and 105,549 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Norwalk’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Norwalk’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Corvallis, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Corvallis
1875–1877
Norwalk
1877–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Studebaker
1cemetery inside Norwalk
Young Israel

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Norwalk’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBethany congregational Church Illustrat…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Santa Fe Springs2 historic placesC+CerritosIts storyC−BellflowerIts storyC−Downey2 historic placesC+

Questions about Norwalk’s history

What year was Norwalk founded?

The Norwalk post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1957.

How does Norwalk rank for history?

Norwalk is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Norwalk?

Two places: the Paddison Ranch Buildings (listed 1978) and the Darius David Johnston House (1978).

How old are the homes in Norwalk?

3% of Norwalk’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1957.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.