The name is derived from the Dale family which moved onto the ranch adjacent to Dales Station in 1908. In 1913 Creath Dale purchased this property that previously belonged to the Long family, and before that, the John Norwood Gates family. The Dale home was originally known as the "Halfway House" when the Gates family owned it, being halfway between the cities of Red Bluff and Manton near Payne's Creek. John Norwood Gates and family resided in the home on or before 1867; John Gates being an early Tehama County pioneer arriving to the area in 1859 with A. A. Kauffman. The Halfway House was originally located on the north side of the Payne's Creek waterway, but was disassembled and rebuilt while the Gates' owned it, near its present location on the south side of the creek. The ranch became a routine stop for the local mail stage coach and passenger stages, with livestock and fresh horses …
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 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.
