Santa Maria’s post office opened in 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #285 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Santa Maria was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Minerva Club of Santa Maria. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Santa Maria post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Santa Maria’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Santa Maria is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #285 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Santa Maria’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Santa Maria ranks #286 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 Santa Maria’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (63% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 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 Santa Maria’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Santa Maria’s post office has been open since 1869.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Casa Grande Mobile Home ParkEl Capitan Village Mobile Home ParkLa Maria Mobile Home ParkMidcoNorth Santa MariaPacerVillage Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
First Church of Christ ScientistchurchHancock AirportairportMachado AirfieldairportSanta Maria United States Air Force Fieldmilitary
1cemetery inside Santa Maria
Santa Maria
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Santa Maria Valley, stretching from the Sierra Madre (California) Mountains toward the Pacific Ocean, was the homeland of the Chumash people for several thousand years. The Native Americans made their homes on the slopes of the surrounding hills among the oaks, on the banks of the Santa Maria River among the sycamores, and along the coast. They had unique plank-built boats, called Tomol, which they used for ocean fishing.
Passages that mention Santa Maria, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1883 · page 296Read the page →
Read the text
town. Each appropriated for that purpose Jidjoining tracts of half a square mile, making a town site one mile square. It is now the terminus of the San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria Valley Railroad, whose other terminus is at Port Harford. It is a flourishing town of rapid growth, it has a church and a fine school house. A. Leslie, its pioneer trader, is postmaster, insurance agent, and dealer iff dry goods and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1883 · page 314Read the page →
Read the text
From a Grange organization of fifty members had been evolved the Santa Maria Valley Farmers' Union, since disbanded. At the instance of this society, John Thornburgh, R. D. Cook, Isaac Miller, and Isaac .Fesler appropriated the adjoining quarters of their Government claims for a town site one-half mile square. It is ten miles from Guadalupe, two miles from the Santa Maria River, sixteen miles from Point
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
Santa Maria, 1869 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Santa Maria post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.
How does Santa Maria rank for history?
Santa Maria is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #285 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 Santa Maria?
One place: the Minerva Club of Santa Maria (listed 1984).
How old are the homes in Santa Maria?
4% of Santa Maria’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
