Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Canyondam

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Canyondam

Canyondam’s post office opened in 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 2000.

1940first post office
0on the National Register
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Canyondam began

When was Canyondam founded?

1940

The Canyondam post office opened in 1940, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 37 in 20002020 census: 3086 years
Founding year: the first Canyondam post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Canyondam’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 Canyondam are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Canyondam’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Canyondam’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
The story

How Canyondam came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Canyondam.

Read it all →

The Canyondam post office opened in 1940, closed in 1944, and reopened in 1952.

An earthquake measuring 5.7 Mw struck on May 23, 2013, and was felt over much of Northern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). Its epicenter was about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Canyondam.

On August 6, 2021, the Dixie Fire burned through the town on its path to Lake Almanor. Around 95% of the structures were destroyed, including the post office.

ChaptersDixie Fire

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.
Add from your album
On the map

Canyondam on the map, 1955 to 1994

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

Canyondam on the 1955 USGS mapCanyondam on the 1979 USGS mapCanyondam on the 1994 USGS map1955Almanor 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 Canyondam.

People over time

Canyondam, census by census

020002020Peak: 37

Between 30 and 37 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Canyondam

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

See all →
James MarstersAmerican actor · b. 1962
Annette Abbott AdamsAmerican lawyer and judge · b. 1877
Eliza SwensonAmerican actress · b. 1982
Cody AndersonAmerican football player · b. 1990
T
Tony MillerAmerican politician (Democrat) · b. 1948
Jason EllisonAmerican baseball player · b. 1978

Questions about Canyondam’s history

What year was Canyondam founded?

The Canyondam post office opened in 1940, 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.