Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Clipper Mills

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 · Clipper Mills

Clipper Mills’ post office opened in 1861

Most of Clipper Mills was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1950. Below: maps from 1948 on.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Clipper Mills began

When was Clipper Mills founded?

1861

The Clipper Mills post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 160165 years
Founding year: the first Clipper Mills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Clipper Mills’ 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 Clipper Mills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Clipper Mills’ homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clipper Mills’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clipper Mills’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 so far

Clipper Mills, in brief

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

Clipper Mills (also, Clipper Mill) is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 3,550 feet (1,082 m). Clipper Mills has a post office, first established in 1861 and moved in 1891. Its zip code is 95930. Clipper Mills's population was 160 at the 2020 census. Clipper Mills' history and economy are centered on the lumber industry. A sawmill started operating nearby, in 1852, and by 1855, Clipper Mills had its own sawmills.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 142 to 160 (+13%).

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

Clipper Mills on the map, 1948 to 1994

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

Clipper Mills on the 1948 USGS mapClipper Mills on the 1950 USGS mapClipper Mills on the 1975 USGS mapClipper Mills on the 1994 USGS map1948Clipper Mills 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 Clipper Mills.

Famous people

Famous people close to Clipper Mills

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

See all →
Joanna NewsomAmerican musician (b. 1982) · b. 1982
Christopher StevensAmerican diplomat, lawyer and ambassador to Lib… · b. 1960
Josiah RoyceAmerican philosopher · b. 1855
Jeremy SistoAmerican actor · b. 1974
Tully MarshallAmerican actor · b. 1864
Doug LaMalfaAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1960
Places that used to be

Old corners

Clipper Mills’s post office has been open since 1861.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oroleve

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

Questions about Clipper Mills’ history

What year was Clipper Mills founded?

The Clipper Mills post office opened in 1861, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.