Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #20 of 847 in California. What drives it
62 places in town are on the National Register, among them 5 National Historic Landmarks and four historic districts with 77 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1860.
Oakland dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakland is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #20 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Oakland ranks #99 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 Oakland’s 3.3 sits above most of its state (85% of California towns have fewer) while its 144 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 6 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
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National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Oakland’s post office has been open since 1855. 15 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oakland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oakland.
From Wikipedia’s history of Oakland.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Huchiun natives, who lived there for thousands of years. The Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok word meaning "western people"). In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, a stream that enters the San Francisco Bay at Emeryville.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Oakland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Later, in partnership with D. G. Barnes, he established one of the first planing mills in the then small town of Oakland. Finally he embarked in the wholesale tobacco business in partnership with two others, his work being soliciting and the management of the Oakland branch. He met with success in his efforts and continued so occupied up to the time of his death, which occurred
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
which Mr. Emery has ever been engaged, from the standpoint of the public, is his connection with the great work of deepening the bay at the mouth of Oakland harbor. During the early years of Oakland's history the greatest drawback in tlie development of the city, from both a commercial standpoint and as a place of residence for persons whose business necessitated daily
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveHenderson Luelling
BuiltPardee House is built
In the archiveOakland, Cal. Broadway, from the railroad station, looking North
BuiltDunns Block is built
In the archiveView from a veranda of a Highland Park residence looking westBuiltAbbey, The-Joaquin Miller House is built
In the archiveOakland Lake Merritt 17931u
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveReading room, Carnegie Library
Born hereThomas Schelling is born hereBuiltParamount Theatre is built5 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1855Henderson Luelling1870Oakland, Cal. Broadway, from the railroad station, lo…
1874Seal of Oakland, California (1874)1885View from a veranda of a Highland Park residence look…1890Oakland Lake Merritt 17931u
1894The Peabody Institute, Oakland, Calif. (The Story of …
1896Fabiola Fete (Overland Monthly, 1896)
1898Lake Merritt
1899Exterior view of the Free Public LibraryFire 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.
1889Sheet 1 of 73Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oakland’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 1,543 people in 1860 to 440,646 in 2020, more than tenfold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oakland’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1852, according to Wikidata. Oakland’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1860 counted 1,543 people here.
Oakland is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #20 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.
62 listings, 6 of them National Historic Landmarks: 54 buildings, among them the Abbey, The-Joaquin Miller House (a National Historic Landmark since 1962), 4 historic districts with 77 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 144 historic buildings in all.
37% of Oakland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (61), 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.
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