More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #422 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of San Martin was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first San Martin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives San Martin’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Martin is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #422 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 San Martin’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 San Martin’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 San Martin’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
San Martin was named after St. Martin of Tours, the patron saint of Santa Clara Valley by pioneer Martin Murphy Sr., an early settler and Mexican citizen who built the first Catholic church in the area.
The community has considered incorporating as a city since 2004, but concerns over the community's small size and its ability to pay for municipal services have held efforts back. Other options considered include annexation by Morgan Hill.
Passages that mention San Martin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Santa Clara County California1922 · page 953Read the page →
Read the text
He then went to Oakland and took part in the subdivision of Allendale and Fruitvale, removing in 1908 to San Martin. The townsite of San Martin had been surveyed in 1892 by C. H. Phillips, who was succeeded by C. M. Wooster & Company, with whom Mr. FuUington had been associated previous to 1900, and he at once became active in the disposal of the lands of the San Martin Ranch after locating here,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The emancipation of South America, being a condensed translatio n by William Pilling of the History of San Martin1893 · page 233Read the page →
Read the text
San Martin appointed Guido and Garcia del Rio commissioners to treat with those of the Viceroy, who were the Count Villar de Fuente and Captain Capaz, late commander of the Maria Isabel. These commissioners met at the town of Miraflores, seven miles from Lima, and at once arranged an armistice.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The emancipation of South America, being a condensed translatio n by William Pilling of the History of San Martin1893 · page 419Read the page →
Read the text
San Martin sent an auxiliary force to aid in the war in Quito without making conditions of any kind, and expected to receive help in Peru on the same terms, but'after Pichincha, Bolivar was master of the situation, and could dictate his own terms. San Martin indulged the illusion that he was still one of the arbiters of South America, that Bolivar would share with him his political and his military power, and that in conference they would arrange together
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.
The San Martin post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does San Martin rank for history?
San Martin is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #422 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 San Martin?
5% of San Martin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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 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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