Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #417 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Orange Cove was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listing is the Orange Cove Santa Fe Railway Depot. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1950.
The Orange Cove post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1948.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orange Cove is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #417 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Orange Cove’s 1.0 sits above most of its state (76% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange Cove’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Orange Cove.
Elmer M. Sheridan founded the town in 1914, and named it prior to large scale citrus growing. The first post office opened in 1914. The city incorporated in 1948.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orange Cove. 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 Orange Cove.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 2,392 people in 1950 to 9,649 in 2020, 4 times over.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Orange Cove’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Orange Cove itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Orange Cove post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1948.
Orange Cove is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #417 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.
One place: the Orange Cove Santa Fe Railway Depot (listed 1978).
3% of Orange Cove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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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