More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #649 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Woodlake was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1940.
Founding year: the first Woodlake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1941.
History grade
What drives Woodlake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodlake is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #649 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodlake’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 Woodlake’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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1941 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Woodlake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodlake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Woodlake is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. It is situated in the San Joaquin Valley near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The population was 7,419 at the 2020 census, up from 7,279 at the 2010 census. In 1912, the city of Woodlake was founded by Gilbert F. Stevenson.
Its first post office opened in 1908. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,279 in 2010, 7,419 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Woodlake, 1908 to 1974
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Woodlake’s history
What year was Woodlake founded?
The Woodlake post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1941.
How does Woodlake rank for history?
Woodlake is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #649 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 Woodlake?
4% of Woodlake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1983.
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), 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.
2023
