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History · Allensworth

Allensworth dates to 1908, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Allensworth was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: maps from 1929 on.

1908founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Allensworth began

When was Allensworth founded?

1908

Allensworth dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1909.

2020 census: 531118 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1909.The full story ↓

What stands out about Allensworth’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Allensworth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Allensworth Historic District takes in 37 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Allensworth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Allensworth’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 National Register

1 listing protects 37 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Allensworth Historic District
Allensworth Historic District, built 1976
Districts
Allensworth Historic DistrictBuilt 1976

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Allensworth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Allensworth.

Read it all →

On June 30, 1908, clergyman Colonel Allen Allensworth and Denison University graduate Professor William Alexander Payne established the California Colony and Home Promoting Association. Allensworth and Payne were the chief officers, with the other constituents being miner John W. Palmer; minister William H. Peck; and real estate agent Harry A. Mitchell (all of whom were Black men). The Association purchased 20 acres of land from the Pacific Farming Company with the goal of establishing a town for Black soldiers. The land was situated at the then-extant Santa Fe rail line stop, titled "Solita." The land was divided into individual parcels, forming "a colony of orderly and industrious African Americans who could control their own destiny."

ChaptersLegacy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Allensworth, 1908 to 1976

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingAllensworth is established
  3. 1909Post officeThe Allensworth post office opens
  4. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1933Post officeThe Allensworth post office closes
  6. 1976BuiltAllensworth Historic District is built
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Allensworth on the map, 1929 to 1969

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

Allensworth on the 1929 USGS mapAllensworth on the 1942 USGS mapAllensworth on the 1954 USGS mapAllensworth on the 1969 USGS map1929Allensworth sheet · 1:31,680

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Allensworth

Nobody well known was born in Allensworth itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bob MathiasAmerican athlete and congressman · b. 1930
Devin NunesAmerican politician, CEO of Trump Media · b. 1973
Dack RamboAmerican actor · b. 1941
Richard G. HovannisianAmerican historian · b. 1932
Joan MarshAmerican actress · b. 1913
Luis ValdezAmerican writer and director · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Allensworth had its own post office from 1909 to 1933.

Allensworth
1909–1933
19001960today

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

Questions about Allensworth’s history

What year was Allensworth founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata. Allensworth’s post office opened in 1909.

What is on the National Register in Allensworth?

One place: the Allensworth Historic District (listed 1972).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.