More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #494 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of San Miguel was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Miguel is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #494 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of San Miguel’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 Miguel’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Miguel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of San Miguel. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Concord 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 San Miguel.
The story so far
San Miguel, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of San Miguel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
San Miguel is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. San Miguel sits at an elevation of 249 feet (76 m). The 2020 United States census reported San Miguel's population was 3,591.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,392 to 3,591 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about San Miguel in 1917
Passages that mention San Miguel, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 11Read the page →
Read the text
checo founded the Monte del Diablo Rancho, and settled where the village of Concord is situated, where he has ever since resided, and about the same time Juana Pacheco, a widow, made appHcation for title to the San Miguel Rancho. At that time she resided at San Jose ; Ygnacio Sibrian, her nephew, occupied the ranch for her, and built an adobe house near Walnut Creek. These persons afterward obtained grants of land of four square leagues each. During the year 1832 Mariano Castro and Bartolo Pacheco settled upon and made application for the San
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
San Miguel, 1897 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
San Miguel is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #494 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 Miguel?
5% of San Miguel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 the Library of Congress (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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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