Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #341 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Tipton was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1980.
The Tipton post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tipton is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #341 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Tipton’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tipton’s history is told.
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.
1888Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tipton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tipton.
From Wikipedia’s history of Tipton.
When construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad halted temporarily in 1872, a small community started to form at the end of the railroad. The residents named their community "Tip Town", signifying that it was at the end of the railroad. The post office changed the name to Tipton when construction restarted in 1873.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Tipton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Some six years ago the railroad company bored for artesian water, two miles south of Tipton and within a few rods of the track. They obtained about a four-inch flow of water at a depth of 310 feet from the surface. The well is still doing nicely, and they have a large grove of trees among which are several thousand blue gums and locusts, besides fruit trees.
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.
Between 1,185 and 2,543 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tipton’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Tipton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Tipton post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Tipton is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #341 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.
10% of Tipton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), 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, 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.
Date?
2022
