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CHistory
History · Arbuckle

Arbuckle’s post office opened in 1876

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #361 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Arbuckle was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1970.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arbuckle’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arbuckle began

When was Arbuckle founded?

1876

The Arbuckle post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,037 in 19702020 census: 3,484150 years

How historic is Arbuckle?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Arbuckle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arbuckle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arbuckle is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #361 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arbuckle’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.7% of homes (±7.1) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 57%

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 Arbuckle’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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Arbuckle’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1918, drew every building in Arbuckle.On the map since 19075 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1973. Watch Arbuckle change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arbuckle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSouthern Colusa County, 1927: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Arbuckle, building by building, 1889–1918

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.

Arbuckle fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Arbuckle on the map, 1907 to 1973

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

Arbuckle on the 1907 USGS mapArbuckle on the 1918 USGS mapArbuckle on the 1942 USGS mapArbuckle on the 1952 USGS mapArbuckle on the 1973 USGS map1907Colusa 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 Arbuckle.

The story

How Arbuckle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arbuckle.

Read it all →

Tacitus R. Arbuckle initially established a ranch here in 1866. The railroad came in 1875 and the town was founded and named for Arbuckle, on whose land it was built. The post office was established the following year, 1876.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arbuckle, 1876 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Arbuckle post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1916Born hereFrederick C. Weyand is born here
  6. 1927In the archiveSouthern Colusa County, 1927
  7. 1937Born hereDoug Mayberry is born here
By decade

Arbuckle, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Southern Colusa County, 19271927Southern Colusa County, 1927
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today14 recent
Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-6018)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-6014)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-6005)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5992)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5864)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5849)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5813)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5783)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5756)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5756) (cropp…2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with CA Producers, at Strain Ranches, CA (20181127-OSEC-SM-5725)2018Secretaries Perdue and Zinke talk at Roundtable with …Arbuckle, California, USA2018Arbuckle, California, USAI.O.O.F. Hall2009I.O.O.F. HallHotel Arbuckle2009Hotel Arbuckle
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.

Southern Colusa County, 1927
Retake this viewSouthern Colusa County, 1927, 1927

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arbuckle, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001980200020203,484

Grew from 1,037 people in 1970 to 3,484 in 2020, 3 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Arbuckle

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frederick C. WeyandAmerican general · b. 1916
D
Doug MayberryAmerican football player · b. 1937

Questions about Arbuckle’s history

What year was Arbuckle founded?

The Arbuckle post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Arbuckle rank for history?

Arbuckle is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #361 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 Arbuckle?

9% of Arbuckle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1986.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), 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.