Vacaville dates to 1851, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #289 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Vacaville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Pena Adobe, the Vacaville Town Hall and the Will H. Buck House. Its Register listings are the Pena Adobe, the Vacaville Town Hall and the Will H. Buck House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Vacaville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vacaville is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #289 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 Vacaville’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Vacaville ranks #289 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 Vacaville’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (69% of California towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Vacaville’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Vacaville’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.
Prior to European contact, the indigenous Patwin tribe lived in the area with the Ululato tribelet, establishing a chiefdom around the Ululato village in what is now downtown Vacaville along the Ulatis Creek.
The early settler pioneers of the land were Juan Manuel Cabeza Vaca and Juan Felipe Peña, who were awarded a 44,000-acre (18,000 ha) Mexican land grant in 1842. The same year, Vaca and Peña's families settled in the area of Lagoon Valley. Peña's Adobe home is the oldest standing building, built in 1842, now at Peña Adobe Park.
In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Vacaville’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 343 people here.
How does Vacaville rank for history?
Vacaville is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #289 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 Vacaville?
Three places: the Pena Adobe (listed 1972), the Vacaville Town Hall (1978) and the Will H. Buck House (1985).
How old are the homes in Vacaville?
1% of Vacaville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
Date?
Date?
2023
