More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #403 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Parlier was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Parlier post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1921.
History grade
What drives Parlier’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Parlier is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #403 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Parlier’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 Parlier’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1921.
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 Parlier’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire 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 year, then a sheet.
1904Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Parlier on the map, 1924 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Parlier. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Selma sheet · 1:31,680
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Parlier.
The story so far
Parlier, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Parlier yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Parlier is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 14,576, up from 14,494 in 2010. The city has one of the state's highest percentage of Latinos, a large majority of whom are seasonal migrant laborers who arrive and temporarily work in the area's agricultural sector. Parlier is located 5.5 miles (9 km) east-northeast of Selma, at an elevation of 344 feet (105 m).
Its first post office opened in 1898. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 14,494 in 2010, 14,576 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Parlier in 1919
Passages that mention Parlier, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fresno 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 present1919 · page 1805Read the page →
Read the text
Central Colony, then came to the Parlier district. (There was no Parlier station at that time). Later, he helped build the winery at Parlier and for five years served as its secretary and manager. For four years he was its manager and President. He then purchased twenty acres of unimproved land. Starting with nothing, the place is now well improved. In 1906, Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fresno 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 present1919 · page 2534Read the page →
Read the text
money, he came west to look around in 1895, when he stayed a year; but the effect of the hard times rather discouraged him, and he concluded to go back to Elgin and the watch factory. In 1906 he came to Fresno County and to Parlier, and bought his present place of twenty-five and three-fourths acres, one one-half miles southeast of Parlier; but again he returned to Elgin, and it was only in 1910 that he sold his residence in the latter place and came to California for good, since which time he has been steadily improving his ranch. In the beginning the only fruit on the ranch was five acres of zinfandel
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
Parlier, 1898 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Parlier’s history
What year was Parlier founded?
The Parlier post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1921.
How does Parlier rank for history?
Parlier is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #403 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.
How old are the homes in Parlier?
6% of Parlier’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1993.
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), 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, 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.
2023
2016