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C−History
History · San Pablo

San Pablo’s post office opened in 1854

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #392 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of San Pablo was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1870.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From San Pablo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How San Pablo began

When was San Pablo founded?

1854

The San Pablo post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,075 in 18702020 census: 32,127172 years

How historic is San Pablo?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first San Pablo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives San Pablo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Pablo is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #392 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 Pablo’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±1.9) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 54%

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 Pablo’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 (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Pablo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18958 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1993. Watch San Pablo change.Famous sons and daughtersRaul Rojas, Gene Clines and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start San Pablo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how San Pablo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewA. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

San Pablo, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000188019001920194019601980200020201,075 in 1870Low: 367

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on San Pablo’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

San Pablo on the map, 1895 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of San Pablo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

San Pablo on the 1895 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1915 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1947 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1959 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1968 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1973 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1980 USGS mapSan Pablo on the 1993 USGS map1895San 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 San Pablo.

The story

How San Pablo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of San Pablo.

Read it all →

The city of San Pablo is on land once occupied by the Cuchiyun band of the Ohlone indigenous people. This Ohlone territory was claimed for the king of Spain in the late 18th century, and was granted for grazing purposes to the Mission Dolores located in today's San Francisco, but these church properties were secularized (or made separate from the Catholic church) when Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about San Pablo, 1882–1917

Passages that mention San Pablo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Since the completion of this extension the cars operating between Richmond and Oakland are routed that way, that portion of the original line from Twenty-third Street to San Pablo Avenue being now a part of the San Pablo-East Richmond line, which runs from the town of San Pablo to East Richmond, or…
The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 339Read the page →
Read the text

Since the completion of this extension the cars operating between Richmond and Oakland are routed that way, that portion of the original line from Twenty-third Street to San Pablo Avenue being now a part of the San Pablo-East Richmond line, which runs from the town of San Pablo to East Richmond, or Grand Canon Park. The line from Macdonald Avenue to the town of San Pablo was built in 1905, and furnished means of transportation to an enterprising people who had been wont to hitch up and make the long drive into Oakland.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Still, the townships would seem to have been too large, for the Board of Supervisors, under date October 18, 1852, created the township of San Pablo. — All that portion of San Antonio township from the Martinez township line to the Cerrito of San Pablo be set off from the said township of San Anton…
History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description1882Read the page →
Read the text

Still, the townships would seem to have been too large, for the Board of Supervisors, under date October 18, 1852, created the township of San Pablo. — All that portion of San Antonio township from the Martinez township line to the Cerrito of San Pablo be set off from the said township of San Antonio, and the same be called the township of San Pablo.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The San Pablo church was first organized in the old town of San Pablo, and later was moved to the new town. It is the only Protestant church in the community, and the only Baptist church in the State, so far as we know, that has its own cemetery.
The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 241Read the page →
Read the text

The San Pablo church was first organized in the old town of San Pablo, and later was moved to the new town. It is the only Protestant church in the community, and the only Baptist church in the State, so far as we know, that has its own cemetery.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Homicides of Contra Costa County. 367 Homicide of George Muth. — The village of San Pablo was the scene of another bloody murder; the date was August 10, 1873. The victim in this case was George Muth, a young German, who had lived some years in the vicinity, and was generally liked and respected. H…
History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description1882 · page 367Read the page →
Read the text

Homicides of Contra Costa County. 367 Homicide of George Muth. — The village of San Pablo was the scene of another bloody murder; the date was August 10, 1873. The victim in this case was George Muth, a young German, who had lived some years in the vicinity, and was generally liked and respected. He was killed by Henry Ploeger, also a German, who lived usually in San Francisco, but for some years, during part of each season, had been engaged in hay -pressing, and had been so employed in San Pablo at the time of the slaying. He

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 Pablo, 1854 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe San Pablo post office opens
  3. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1924In the archiveA. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of livestock. Total time consumed in t…
  6. 1941Born hereRaul Rojas is born here
  7. 1943Post officeThe San Pablo post office closes
  8. 1946Born hereGene Clines is born here
  9. 1966Born hereKimberley Dahme is born here
  10. 1971Born hereD'Marco Farr is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 32,127
By decade

San Pablo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
A. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of livestock. Total time consumed in the destruction of the head was…1924A. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of…A. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of livestock. Total time consumed in the destruction of the head was…1924A. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of…
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey - Castro-Alvarado Adobe, 2748 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo, Contra Costa County, CADate?Historic American Buildings Survey - Castro-Alvarado …Castro-Alvarado Adobe, 2748 San Pablo AvenueDate?Castro-Alvarado Adobe, 2748 San Pablo Avenue
Today30 recent
Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Helms Middle School, Jan '122012Helms Middle School, Jan '12Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inCongressman Miller visits Helms Middle School in2012Congressman Miller visits Helms Middle School inGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George MillerGeorge Miller2011George Miller
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

A. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of livestock. Total time consumed in the destruction of the head was…
Retake this viewA. Britto and Co. Dairy. The final end of 801 head of livestock. Total time consumed in the destruction of the head was…, 1924

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on San Pablo’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in San Pablo

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Raul RojasAmerican boxer · b. 1941
Gene ClinesAmerican baseball player · b. 1946
Kimberley DahmeAmerican musician · b. 1966
D
D'Marco FarrPlayer of American football · b. 1971
Eddie MillerOutfielder · b. 1957
T
Tom DozierAmerican baseball player · b. 1961
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

San Pablo had its own post office from 1854 to 1943.

San Pablo
1854–1943
18501940today
Gone or out of use
El Portal Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside San Pablo
Saint Joseph

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

El SobranteIts storyC−RollingwoodIts storyC−Richmond12 historic placesB−

Questions about San Pablo’s history

What year was San Pablo founded?

The San Pablo post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does San Pablo rank for history?

San Pablo is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #392 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 Pablo?

6% of San Pablo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (32), the Library of Congress (2), 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 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.