Pacheco dates to 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #362 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Pacheco was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the William T. Hendrick House. Its Register listing is the William T. Hendrick House. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pacheco is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #362 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pacheco’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 Pacheco’s 2.3 sits above most of its state (82% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1857.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Pacheco’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was laid out in 1857 by Dr. J. H. Carothers and named for Salvio Pacheco, grantee of the Rancho Monte del Diablo Mexican land grant. A post office operated at Pacheco from 1859 to 1913 and from 1955 to the present.
Pacheco was briefly a prosperous commercial center. During this period, Pacheco Slough was deep enough to receive ocean-based shipping. From 1851 to nearly 1873, Pacheco was the county's commercial center: the shipping port for the grain grown in the Ygnacio, San Ramon and Tassajara valleys, with warehouses, a flour mill and shops along the creek. Walnut Creek, (then known as Pacheco Creek), then flowed deep and free into Suisun Bay. For over 20 years, Pacheco was a major shipping port for central Contra Costa County.
Passages that mention Pacheco, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Contra Costa County, California1917Read the page →
Read the text
CONCORD In the year 1869, owing to the continued yearly flooding of the town of Pacheco, whereby the inhabitants were put to great expense for raising buildings, etc., Salvio Pacheco, Fernando Pacheco, and Francisco Galindo, to whom belonged the land, offered to lay out a town some two miles east of Pacheco. The plot was surveyed by Lewis Castro and laid off into lots and streets. It contained twenty acres, divided into nineteen blocks and a plaza.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description1882 · page 460Read the page →
Read the text
CONCORD. — In the year 1869, owing to the continued yearly-recurring flooding Of the town of Pacheco, whereby the inhabitants were put to great expense for raising buildings, etc., Fernando Pacheco and Francisco Galindo, to whom belonged the land, offered to lay out a town, some two miles east from Pacheco, and give to those willing to transfer themselves to the new town a certain number of lots free of charge. The plot was surveyed by Lewis Castro, laid off into lots and streets, and contained twenty acres divided into nineteen blocks and a plaza.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 253Read the page →
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his new home, and in 1854 returned to California for permanent residence in Contra Costa County, where he actively estabUshed himself in the practice of medicine. About i860 he bought sixty acres of land from Don Salvador Pacheco and laid out the town of Pacheco. Here he built stores, houses, and his own residence, and this town was for a long time the active business center of central Contra Costa County. In 1869 he was elected to the State legislature upon the Republican ticket.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description1882 · page 539Read the page →
Read the text
that State, and is considered one of the ablest physicians in this section of the country, his practice calling him on long trips about Contra Costa and the surrounding districts. He came to Martinez in 1854. In 1857 he laid out the town of Pacheco, and resided there for about fifteen years, when he moved back to Martinez, in 1874, and erected his present handsome residence, situated on an entire block, in the center of the village. Everything about his place denotes thrift, taste and care. The neat graveled walks are lined with choice flowers, and the whole place is
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
Pacheco, 1857 to 1897
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1990 counted 3,325 people here.
How does Pacheco rank for history?
Pacheco is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #362 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 Pacheco?
One place: the William T. Hendrick House (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in Pacheco?
0.0% of Pacheco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (2), 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 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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