The Occidental post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Freestone (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 97 in 18802020 census: 1,132150 years
How historic is Occidental?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Occidental post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Occidental’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Occidental is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Occidental’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 Occidental’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±14.2 points). 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 Occidental’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Founded in 1876, Occidental was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry. In return for donating right-of-way to the railroad, a local landowner named "Dutch Bill" Howards received a lifetime railway pass, and the station was named after him.
The railway caused a rapid expansion of the timber industry, and by 1877 there were six sawmills in the Occidental area. Trains also brought vacationers from San Francisco.
Passages that mention Occidental, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 205Read the page →
Read the text
But the noted Petrified Forest near Geyserville does not complete the list of Sonoma County's scenic freaks. A short time ago three redwood trees were unearthed in the town of Occidental, perfect petrifactions, but much larger than the Gevserville fossils, and in fact larger than any petrified trees ever found. Their diameters are twenty-three feet, thirteen feet and twelve feet respectively, while the largest trunk in the Geyserville grove measures eleven feet. Like the other dead sequoia the Occidental trees lie north and south, showing that the same mighty force tending in the same direction acted in the same manner on
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 292Read the page →
Read the text
dental. The postoffice was also petitioned for under that name, hence the place is mentioned indifi'erently as Howard's Station, Meekers, Summit and Occidental. The town lies in the heart of a redwood forest, and the old stumps still stand in the streets. One hundred and twenty thousand shingles were made out of a tree which stood on the town site. The church building
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 291Read the page →
Read the text
of Camp Meeker would be an injustice. This well-known summer resort is one of the finest in northern California, and is laid out on a tract from which he has been cutting timber for the past thirty-nine years, and still there is enough left for several years work. Located north of Occidental, the camp contains three thousand acres of land. An attractive section of the camp has been laid out in lots, two thousand of which liave been sold and seven hundred cottages built by people in an around San Francisco, who spend their smnmers in these delightful surroundings. Several mineral springs of great
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 169Read the page →
Read the text
Occidental. — This, growing and prosperous town is located on the line of the North Pacific Coast Railroad, about thirty miles north of Petaluma. Farming, fruit growing and lumber
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
Occidental, 1870 to 1951
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Occidental’s post office has been open since 1876. Another post office, Freestone, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Freestone
1870–1951
Occidental
1876–today
Camp Meeker
1900–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp MeekerFreestone
1cemetery inside Occidental
Druids Occidental
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Occidental’s history
What year was Occidental founded?
The Occidental post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Occidental rank for history?
Occidental is more historic than 50% 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.
How old are the homes in Occidental?
30% of Occidental’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (12), 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.
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