Torrance’s post office opened in 1912, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #362 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Torrance was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1930.
The Torrance post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Moneta (1890), Perry (1905) and Walteria (1926), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 7,271 in 19302020 census: 147,067114 years
How historic is Torrance?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Torrance post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Torrance’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Torrance is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #362 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Torrance’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Torrance ranks #321 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 Torrance’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (70% of California towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 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 Torrance’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Torrance was founded in October 1912 and was incorporated on May 12, 1921.
For thousands of years, the area of Torrance was occupied by the Tongva Native Americans. The land that is now part of the City of Torrance and much of the modern South Bay was part of the extensive marshlands.
In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro (including present-day Torrance), a tract of over 75,000 acres (300 km2) in the province of Las Californias of New Spain, to soldier Juan José Domínguez.
It was later divided in 1846, with Governor Pío Pico granting Rancho de los Palos Verdes to José Loreto and Juan Capistrano Sepúlveda in the Alta California territory of independent Mexico.
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.
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.
The Torrance post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Torrance rank for history?
Torrance is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #362 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 Torrance?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Auditorium (listed 1983, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Torrance?
4% of Torrance’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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