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History · Bear Valley

Bear Valley’s post office opened in 1858

Most of Bear Valley was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 5 old photos and papers.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bear Valley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bear Valley began

When was Bear Valley founded?

1858

The Bear Valley post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 156168 years
Founding year: the first Bear Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bear Valley’s past

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

Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear Valley’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 photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey - Fr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bear Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bear Valley.

Read it all →

The community passed through several names before 1858. The original name, Haydenville, honored David, Charles, and William Hayden, gold miners. Biddle's Camp and Biddleville commemorated William C. Biddle; Simpsonville honored Robert Simpson, a local merchant; and Johnsonville recognized John F. Johnson. The name became Bear Valley in 1858.

The Haydenville post office opened before January 21, 1851, and closed in 1852. The Bear Valley post office operated from 1858 to 1912, from 1914 to 1919, and from 1933 to 1955.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bear Valley, decade by decade

Date unknown5 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey - Fremont CottageDate?Historic American Buildings Survey - Fremont CottageHistoric American Buildings Survey Photo by Wm. H. Knowles May 1936 - Oso House HotelDate?Historic American Buildings Survey Photo by Wm. H. Kn…Historic American Buildings Survey Taken 1850's - Oso House HotelDate?Historic American Buildings Survey Taken 1850's - Oso…Historic American Buildings Survey Wells Fargo Bank Historical Museum, S.F. - Wells Fargo BuildingDate?Historic American Buildings Survey Wells Fargo Bank H…Fremont CottageDate?Fremont Cottage
Today1 recent
2009-0724-CA-BearValley20092009-0724-CA-BearValley
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.

Historic American Buildings Survey - Fremont Cottage
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey - Fremont Cottage

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Bear Valley

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

See all →
Janet LeighAmerican actress · b. 1927
Ray AllenAmerican basketball player · b. 1975
J
Jacoby ShaddixAmerican singer, songwriter and rapper · b. 1976
Jalen GreenAmerican basketball player · b. 2002
Bruce BowenAmerican basketball player · b. 1971
George RadanovichAmerican politician · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Bear Valley had its own post office from 1858 to 1955.

Bear Valley
1858–1955
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bear Valley
Bear ValleyBear Valley Independent Order of Odd Fellows

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

Questions about Bear Valley’s history

What year was Bear Valley founded?

The Bear Valley post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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.