Suisun City’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #297 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Suisun City was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Suisun Masonic Lodge No. 55. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1870.
From Suisun City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Suisun City began, and where its name came from
When was Suisun City founded?
1857
The Suisun City post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Suisun (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 462 in 18702020 census: 29,518169 years
How did Suisun City get its name?
The city takes its name from the adjacent Suisun Bay, which in turn is named for the Suisun people, a Native people of the area.
How historic is Suisun City?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Suisun City is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #297 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 Suisun City’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 Suisun City’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (68% 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 (±2.1 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 Suisun City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Suisun City was established in the 1850s. Its location made it ideal for commerce and transportation during the California Gold Rush.
In 1868—1869, it was connected to the First transcontinental railroad at Sacramento via the California Pacific Railroad (Cal-P) main line, expanding the region's reach across the United States. By 1879 Central Pacific Railroad owned the Cal-P mainline and rerouted the transcontinental overland route through the new branch from Port Costa, via the railroad ferry Solano to Benicia, across the Suisun Marsh to Suisun City, putting the region directly on the overland route from San Francisco to Ogden and beyond.
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.
The Suisun City post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Suisun City rank for history?
Suisun City is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #297 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 Suisun City?
One place: the Suisun Masonic Lodge No. 55 (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Suisun City?
3% of Suisun City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (5), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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