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C−History
History · Westminster

Westminster dates to 1870

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #497 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Westminster was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1890.

1870founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
20famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Deathlock97 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Westminster began

When was Westminster founded?

1870

Westminster dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 585 in 18902020 census: 90,911156 years

How historic is Westminster?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Westminster’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westminster is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #497 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 Westminster’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.5% of homes (±0.8) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 41%

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 Westminster’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 (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Westminster’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Westminster, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Westminster are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18967 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1981. Watch Westminster change.Famous sons and daughtersPaul Caligiuri, Jarin Blaschke and 18 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Westminster’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Bolsa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Westminster
1874–today
Bolsa
1886–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Americana Mobile Home ParkBarber CityBolsaBolsa VerdeCaravana Trailer LodgeDriftwood Mobile Home ParkGreen Lantern VillageKensington GardensLos Alisos Mobile Home EstatesLos Robles Mobile Home ParkMidway CityPrado Verde Mobile Home ParkRancho del Sol Mobile Home ParkRoyal Gardens Mobile Home EstatesSummerset Mobile Home EstatesVilla Magnolia Mobile Home ParkWest Grove Mobile Home EstatesWestminster Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Westminster
Westminster Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Westminster’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westminster’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Westminster on the map, 1896 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westminster. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Westminster on the 1896 USGS mapWestminster on the 1935 USGS mapWestminster on the 1949 USGS mapWestminster on the 1950 USGS mapWestminster on the 1964 USGS mapWestminster on the 1972 USGS mapWestminster on the 1981 USGS map1896Downey sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Westminster.

The story

How Westminster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westminster.

Read it all →

Westminster was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian temperance colony. The name is derived from the Westminster Assembly of 1643, which established the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith. During the early years of its history, farmers refused to harvest grapes since they associated grapes with alcohol.

During the late 1800s, arable land held dairy farms alongside agricultural plots which cultivated walnuts, strawberries, celery, and lima beans until they were replaced by the sugar beet industry at the turn of the century.

A change in tariffs laws along with an influx of beet pests resulted in the collapse of the Southern California Sugar Beet Industry and was supplemented by goldfish farms.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Westminster, 1870 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingWestminster is established
  3. 1874Post officeThe Westminster post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Bolsa post office opens
  5. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Bolsa post office closes
  8. 1964Born herePaul Caligiuri is born here
  9. 1964Born hereDeen Castronovo is born here
  10. 1978Born hereJarin Blaschke is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2000Born hereTrent McDuffie is born here
By decade

Westminster, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Tony Lam Park entrance sign2026Tony Lam Park entrance signStreet sign of Charlie Kirk Way in Westminster, California, April 28, 20262026Street sign of Charlie Kirk Way in Westminster, Calif…Entrance sign of Little Saigon, City of2026Entrance sign of Little Saigon, City ofDanh’s Pharmacy in Little Saigon2026Danh’s Pharmacy in Little SaigonCarrot ^ Daikon - Flickr - JingKe8882026Carrot ^ Daikon - Flickr - JingKe888Target (Westminster Mall, California) - 20252025Target (Westminster Mall, California) - 2025
People over time

Westminster, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000190019201940196019802000202090,911

Grew from 585 people in 1890 to 90,911 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Westminster’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

20 famous people were born in Westminster

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
P
Paul CaligiuriAmerican soccer player · b. 1964
Jarin BlaschkeAmerican cinematographer · b. 1978
Deen CastronovoAmerican drummer and singer · b. 1964
Trent McDuffieAmerican football player · b. 2000
G
Geoff ZanelliAmerican composer · b. 1974
Gerald LairdBaseball player from the United States · b. 1979
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Garden GroveIts storyC−Huntington Beach6 historic placesC−Fountain ValleyIts storyD−Seal Beach1 historic placeC−Midway CityIts storyD

Questions about Westminster’s history

What year was Westminster founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Westminster’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1890 counted 585 people here.

How does Westminster rank for history?

Westminster is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #497 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 Westminster?

3% of Westminster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (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) 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.