More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #462 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Waterford was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Waterford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1969.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waterford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waterford is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #462 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waterford’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 Waterford’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1969.
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 Waterford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community which became Waterford began to form in the latter half of the 19th century, after surrounding regions became populated with 49ers. At this time the area was known as Bakersville, after one of the town's influential members. It soon became apparent that mail was being mistaken between Bakersville and Bakersfield, California, and the smaller of the two was forced to change its name. At that time, the Tuolumne River did not have a bridge, and instead was crossed by Roberts Ferry on the waterfront. Since the area was well known for this ford, the town adopted the name of Waterford. For several decades, a regular steam locomotive could traverse the Tuolumne in Waterford on a trestle bridge, which was demolished in the second half of the 20th century. There are now no longer railway lines running through or near Waterford, even though many maps will still show the tracks going …
Passages that mention Waterford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history, topography and antiquities of the county and city of Waterford1824 · page 227Read the page →
Read the text
According to the charter of Charles I. the city of Waterford, that part of the county of Kilkenny which is contained within the bounds of the parish of Kilculliheen, also the great port of the city of Waterford, which enters between Rodybanke and Rindoane to Carrick by water, and all the lands within Ballinakill, Killure, Kilbarry, and Killoteran constitute the county of the city of Water-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history, topography and antiquities of the county and city of Waterford1824 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text
John's River is traversed by three bridges, within the city of Waterford; two of ancient date, namely, John's bridge, and William-street bridge, and one, called Catherine's bridge, recently erected, near the old abbey of St. Catherine.
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
Waterford, 1872 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
1914Sheet 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.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewTuolomneRiverWaterfordCA
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waterford’s page.
The Waterford post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1969.
How does Waterford rank for history?
Waterford is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #462 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.
How old are the homes in Waterford?
3% of Waterford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (3), 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?
Date?
