Redlands dates to 1881, and 12 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #74 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Redlands was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 12 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 368 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Redlands’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redlands is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #74 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Redlands’ 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 Redlands’ 51.7 sits above most of its state (97% of California towns have fewer) while its 379 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1881.
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 Redlands’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Alabama Street PitmineAssembly of God Pentecostal ChurchchurchRedlands StationlocaleSaint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Redlands
Hillside Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Redlands, building by building, 1891–1915
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.
The area of Redlands was territory that historically was occupied by the Morongo and Aguas Calientes tribes of Cahuilla people. Explorations such as those of Pedro Fages and Francisco Garcés sought to extend Catholic influence to the indigenous people and the dominion of the Spanish crown into the area in the 1770s. The Tongva village of Kaawchama, located just to the west of present-day Redlands, was visited by Fr. Francisco Dumetz in 1810, and was the reason the site was chosen for a mission outpost. Dumetz reached the village on May 20, the feast day of Saint Bernardino of Siena, and thus named the region the San Bernardino Valley. The Franciscan friars from Mission San Gabriel established the San Bernardino Estancia in 1819 and embarked on the usual program of training the native tribes to raise crops and mandating permanent settlements. By 1820, a ditch, known as a zanja, was dug b…
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.
In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Redlands’ post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1890 counted 1,904 people here.
How does Redlands rank for history?
Redlands is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Redlands?
12 listings: 9 buildings, among them the A. K. Smiley Public Library (listed 1976, the first), 2 historic districts, the Redlands Santa Fe Depot District and the Smiley Park Historic District, with 368 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 379 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Redlands?
9% of Redlands’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (12), 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.
1875
1898
1898
