Richmond’s post office opened in 1900, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #135 of 847 in California. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them eight historic districts with 512 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1910.
The Richmond post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905. Five smaller post offices, Olinda (1889), Stege (1889) and Giant (1895), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 6,802 in 19102020 census: 116,448126 years
How historic is Richmond?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Richmond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richmond’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richmond is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Richmond’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Richmond ranks #227 on History.
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 Richmond’s 44.5 sits above most of its state (97% of California towns have fewer) while its 514 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1905 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Richmond’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Richmond’s post office has been open since 1900. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Olinda
1889–1890
Stege
1889–1935
Giant
1895–1936
Richmond
1900–today
Eastyard
1901–1902
Point Richmond
1902–1912
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Atchison VillageEaster Hill VillageEl CerritoGiantNitroNystrom VillagePoint RichmondRheemSobranteStegeTriangle Court
Gone or out of use
Apostolic Pentecostal ChurchchurchBlake Brothers QuarrymineEast Bay HospitalhospitalGiant Post Officepost officeNaval Fuel Depot Point MolatemilitaryNike Site SF-08CmilitaryNike Site SF-08L/09LmilitarySan Pablo Oil Tank Farmoilfield
1cemetery inside Richmond
Rolling Hills Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Richmond on the map, 1895 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richmond. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895San Francisco sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Richmond.
The Ohlone were the first inhabitants of the Richmond area, settling an estimated 5,000 years ago. They spoke the Chochenyo language, and subsisted as hunter-gatherers and harvesters.
The site that would eventually become the city of Richmond was part of the Rancho San Pablo land granted to Don Francisco María Castro, from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name; the Point Richmond area was known originally as The Potrero and then renamed as Point Stevens in early charts of San Francisco Bay. Point Richmond was an island, but industrial development and deliberate fill connected it to the mainland by the early 1900s.
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.
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 Richmond post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Richmond rank for history?
Richmond is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Richmond?
12 listings: 2 buildings, 8 historic districts with 512 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 514 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Richmond?
11% of Richmond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (4), 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.
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