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History · Bootjack

Bootjack’s post office opened in 1903

Most of Bootjack was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1990.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bootjack began

When was Bootjack founded?

1903

The Bootjack post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,295 in 19902020 census: 661123 years
Founding year: the first Bootjack post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bootjack’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 Bootjack are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,588 in 2000; 661 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bootjack’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bootjack’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
People over time

Bootjack, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60020002020Peak: 1,588

Peaked at 1,588 in 2000; 661 people lived here in 2020.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

The story

How Bootjack came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bootjack.

Read it all →

Bootjack began as a mining camp during the California Gold Rush following the discovery of gold in 1849. Contemporary accounts describe it as "a collection of tents, brush shacks and log huts."

The origin of the name "Bootjack" is debated. One theory suggests it refers to a fork in the road resembling a boot jack; another refers to a tree with a similar shape. A third, more colorful story involves a gambler known as “Texas Pete” who was hanged for theft, allegedly requesting the removal of his boots using a plank as a bootjack.

ChaptersPostwar Community Life

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bootjack, 1903 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Bootjack post office opens
  3. 1912Post officeThe Bootjack post office closes
  4. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,588
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

Bootjack on the map, 1947 to 1981

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

Bootjack on the 1947 USGS mapBootjack on the 1981 USGS map1947Mariposa sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bootjack

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

See all →
J
Jacoby ShaddixAmerican singer, songwriter and rapper · b. 1976
R
Ronald D. MooreAmerican screenwriter and television producer · b. 1964
George RadanovichAmerican politician · b. 1955
Logan MankinsAmerican football player · b. 1982
J
Jon LeicesterAmerican baseball player · b. 1979
Jacob DuranAmerican cutman · b. 1951
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bootjack had its own post office from 1903 to 1912.

Bootjack
1903–1912
19001960today

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

Questions about Bootjack’s history

What year was Bootjack founded?

The Bootjack post office opened in 1903, 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 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.