Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #293 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Orosi was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listing is the Orosi Branch Library. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1960.
The Orosi post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.
Orosi was named "oro," or gold, for the golden poppies covering the nearby fields.
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orosi is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #293 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 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 Orosi’s 1.1 sits above most of its state (77% 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 Orosi’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1980 and 2000, then grew 3-fold.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Orosi’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orosi. 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 Orosi.
From Wikipedia’s history of Orosi.
The community was founded in 1888 by Daniel R. Shafer. It was named "oro," or gold, for the golden poppies covering the nearby fields. A post office was established in 1892.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereTad Wieman is born here
BuiltOrosi Branch Library is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFire 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 sheet.
1911Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Orosi post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Orosi is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #293 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 Orosi Branch Library (listed 1983).
2% of Orosi’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2009