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DHistory
History · Cedar Ridge

Half of Cedar Ridge’s homes were built after 1979

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Cedar Ridge was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1948 on.

0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

About Cedar Ridge’s history

How historic is Cedar Ridge?

D

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Cedar Ridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Ridge is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Ridge’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 11%
NewerOlder

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 Cedar Ridge’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Cedar Ridge’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cedar Ridge’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story so far

Cedar Ridge, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cedar Ridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cedar Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. Cedar Ridge sits at an elevation of 3,760 feet (1,150 m). The 2020 United States census reported Cedar Ridge's population as 1,235. Cedar Ridge was created a CDP for the 2010 census, previously it was part of the Phoenix Lake-Cedar Ridge CDP.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,132 to 1,235 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Cedar Ridge on the map, 1948 to 2001

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

Cedar Ridge on the 1948 USGS mapCedar Ridge on the 2001 USGS map1948Columbia SE 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 Cedar Ridge.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cedar Ridge

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

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Comstock Ranch
Gone or out of use
Keltz Minemine

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Questions about Cedar Ridge’s history

How does Cedar Ridge rank for history?

Cedar Ridge is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. 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 Cedar Ridge?

1% of Cedar Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.