Orinda’s post office opened in 1895, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #169 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Orinda was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Its Register listings are the Moraga Adobe, the Charles W. Merrill House and the Maynard and Katharine Buehler House. Its Register listings are the Moraga Adobe, the Charles W. Merrill House and the Maynard and Katharine Buehler House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1960.
The Orinda post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Orinda Park (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,568 in 19602020 census: 19,514131 years
How historic is Orinda?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Orinda post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Orinda’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orinda is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #169 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Orinda’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 Orinda’s 2.6 sits above most of its state (82% of California towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±1.8 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 Orinda’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados, Rancho Acalanes, Rancho El Sobrante and Rancho Boca de la Cañada del Pinole. The area was originally rural, mainly known for ranching and summer cabins. The Moraga Adobe was built in 1841, and is the oldest building in the East Bay. In 1876, County Sheriff William Walker Camron bought a tract of land east of the Berkeley Hills. His wife, Alice Marsh Camron, loved the poetry of Katherine Philips, who was known as the "Matchless Orinda". Camron named his new tract of land "Orinda Park".
Passages that mention Orinda, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Contra Costa County, California1926 · page 371Read the page →
Read the text
July 31, 1926. — Working three eight-hour shifts a day, contractors are rushing the construction of the $1,375,000 Claremont tunnel, the longest underground link in the Mokelumne water project. Extending for three and one-half miles in a straight line, from Orinda to Rockridge, the bore is being cut through hills which are 1650 feet above sea level at the highest point. Starting at a height of 340 feet above sea level at Orinda, the tunnel will gradually slope to the 328 foot level at Rockridge, giving a daily flow of 200,000,000 gallons.
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
Orinda, 1888 to 1987
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.
The Orinda post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Orinda rank for history?
Orinda is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #169 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 Orinda?
Three places: the Moraga Adobe (listed 1972), the Charles W. Merrill House (2005) and the Maynard and Katharine Buehler House (2006).
How old are the homes in Orinda?
5% of Orinda’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 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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