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History · Amador City

Amador City dates to 1849, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1880.

1849founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Amador City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Amador City began

When was Amador City founded?

1849

Amador City dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 824 in 18802020 census: 200177 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓

What stands out about Amador City’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 984 in 1890; 200 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Amador City’s homes were built before 1942.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Amador City.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Amador City’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFrame Barn, Fiddletown: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Amador City, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 984

Peaked at 984 in 1890; 200 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Amador City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amador City.

Read it all →

Amador City was originally settled in 1849 at what is now Turner Road and Amador Creek (an old wagon road between Drytown and Sutter Creek) by several groups of gold panners who were drawn to the area. One of these was the Sunol Group, which included José María Amador. He panned the creek, but his primary success was in providing supplies that he brought from his rancheria in the San Ramon area. The creek, city and county eventually carried the name "Amador", the city taking its name from the county.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amador City, 1849 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingAmador City is established
  3. 1863Post officeThe Amador City post office opens
  4. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 984
  5. 20th century
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Amador City, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Frame Barn, FiddletownDate?Frame Barn, FiddletownBenoist-Ginocchio Store (Walls), Highway 49, Butte City, Glenn County, CADate?Benoist-Ginocchio Store (Walls), Highway 49, Butte Ci…Kirkwood Inn & Round Top Post Office, U.S. Highway 88, Kirkwood, Alpine County, CADate?Kirkwood Inn & Round Top Post Office, U.S. Highway 88…
On the map

Amador City on the map, 1941 to 1962

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

Amador City on the 1941 USGS mapAmador City on the 1957 USGS mapAmador City on the 1962 USGS map1941Sutter Creek 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 Amador City.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Frame Barn, Fiddletown
Retake this viewFrame Barn, Fiddletown

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Amador City’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Amador City

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

See all →
E
Ernest GalloAmerican businessman · b. 1909
T
Tam O'ShaughnessyAmerican educator, children's science writer, p… · b. 1952
Angelo Joseph RossiAmerican mayor · b. 1878
David HodoAmerican singer · b. 1947
Anthony CaminettiAmerican politician · b. 1854
J
Joseph RaphaelAmerican artist · b. 1869
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Amador City’s post office has been open since 1863.

Gone or out of use
Keystone MinemineLittle Amador MinemineSchaeffers Digginsmine
1cemetery inside Amador City
Amador City

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

Questions about Amador City’s history

What year was Amador City founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amador City’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1880 counted 824 people here.

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 Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, 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.