Woodland’s post office opened in 1861, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #107 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Woodland was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 59 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Woodland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Woodland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodland is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #107 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodland’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 Woodland’s 11.3 sits above most of its state (92% of California towns have fewer) while its 70 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1871 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 Woodland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Woodland, building by building, 1886–1912
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.
Before its settlement by people of European descent, the Woodland area was inhabited by the Patwin, a subgroup of the Wintun Native Americans, further divided into the River and Coastal Patwin. Woodland's indigenous roots stem from the River Patwin, who tended to stay closer to the Sacramento River, as opposed to the Coastal Patwin who lived in small valleys in hills and ranges. The Yolotoi, a tribelet of the Patwin, occupied area near Woodland, and settled a village northwest of Woodland, as well as area close to present-day Knights Landing. Although they did not have a permanent settlement in present-day Woodland, it is believed that the River Patwin occupied the Woodland area in seasonal camps for hunting and seed gathering. The Yolotoi and their neighboring tribelets had a main trading trail which followed Cache Creek. The exchange of goods between the neighboring tribes of the Noml…
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.
Browns CornerHebronIdle Wheel Mobile EstatesLeisureville Mobile Home ParkRoyal Palms Mobile EstatesWoodlands Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Alderson HospitalhospitalHesperian CollegeschoolWalnut Street Public SchoolschoolYolo County General Hospitalhospital
1cemetery inside Woodland
Woodland
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Woodland’s history
What year was Woodland founded?
The Woodland post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1871.
How does Woodland rank for history?
Woodland is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #107 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 Woodland?
11 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Woodland Opera House (listed 1971, the first), and 1 historic district, the Downtown Woodland Historic District, with 59 contributing buildings. 70 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Woodland?
7% of Woodland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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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