Library of Congress
1 / 23#23. Washington, Alameda County
- Total population: 3,019 (#1,465 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,907
--- Female population: 1,112
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 733
Biggest cities in California 150 years ago
After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.
With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.
The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in California from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S. it's easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.
The largest city in California ranked #10 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 2 were in California. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
You may also like: Least educated counties in California
Andreas Larsen Dahl/Wisconsin Historical Society // Getty Images
2 / 23#22. San Bernardino, San Bernadino County
- Total population: 3,064 (#1,417 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,803
--- Female population: 1,261
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 987
Carson Brothers/Buyenlarge // Getty Images
3 / 23#21. Cache Creek, Yolo County
- Total population: 3,067 (#1,412 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,913
--- Female population: 1,154
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 813
Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
4 / 23#20. Pajaro, Santa Cruz County
- Total population: 3,114 (#1,362 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,833
--- Female population: 1,281
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,029
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5 / 23#19. Gilroy, Santa Clara County
- Total population: 3,195 (#1,293 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,907
--- Female population: 1,228
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 847
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
6 / 23#18. Eden, Alameda County
- Total population: 3,341 (#1,193 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,012
--- Female population: 1,329
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 799
Alexander Alland, Sr./Corbis via Getty Images
7 / 23#17. Santa Clara, Santa Clara County
- Total population: 3,469 (#1,084 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,070
--- Female population: 1,399
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,177
Carleton E. Watkins/Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
8 / 23#16. Chico, Butte County
- Total population: 3,714 (#923 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,476
--- Female population: 1,238
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 853
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9 / 23#15. Napa, Napa County
- Total population: 3,791 (#892 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,220
--- Female population: 1,571
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 977
Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
10 / 23#14. Nevada, Nevada County
- Total population: 3,986 (#821 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,652
--- Female population: 1,334
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 940
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
11 / 23#13. Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County
- Total population: 4,255 (#722 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,377
--- Female population: 1,878
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,392
Detroit Publishing Company // Library of Congress
12 / 23#12. Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County
- Total population: 4,436 (#665 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,605
--- Female population: 1,831
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,176
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
13 / 23#11. Petaluma, Sonoma County
- Total population: 4,588 (#619 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,548
--- Female population: 2,040
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,397
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
14 / 23#10. 3, Contra Costa County
- Total population: 4,610 (#610 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,794
--- Female population: 1,816
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,324
Bettmann // Getty Images
15 / 23#9. Marysville, Yuba County
- Total population: 4,738 (#572 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,144
--- Female population: 1,594
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 923
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
16 / 23#8. Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
- Total population: 5,728 (#411 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,186
--- Female population: 2,542
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,629
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
17 / 23#7. Vallejo, Solano County
- Total population: 6,391 (#344 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,957
--- Female population: 2,434
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,322
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
18 / 23#6. Grass Valley, Nevada County
- Total population: 7,003 (#300 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,545
--- Female population: 2,518
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,638
Vintage Images // Getty Images
19 / 23#5. San José, Santa Clara County
- Total population: 9,089 (#216 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,971
--- Female population: 4,118
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,442
American Stock/ClassicStock // Getty Images
20 / 23#4. Stockton, San Joaquin County
- Total population: 10,006 (#187 nationwide)
--- Male population: 6,210
--- Female population: 3,856
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,438
Chicago History Museum // Getty Images
21 / 23#3. Oakland, Alameda County
- Total population: 11,104 (#150 nationwide)
--- Male population: 6,589
--- Female population: 4,515
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,848
H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images
22 / 23#2. Sacramento, Sacramento County
- Total population: 16,283 (#93 nationwide)
--- Male population: 9,465
--- Female population: 6,818
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,838
Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
23 / 23#1. San Francisco, San Francisco County
- Total population: 149,473 (#10 nationwide)
--- Male population: 86,182
--- Female population: 63,291
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 34,541
