Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #253 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Folsom was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
Folsom first appears in the census in 1890. Six smaller post offices, Mormon Island (1851), Texas Hill (1851) and Folsom City (1856), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Folsom is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #253 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Folsom’s 1.3 sits above most of its state (78% of California towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Folsom’s post office has been open since 1938. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1914California's first flour mill
1914State prison at Folsom, Cal
1914Power canal dam
1914Entrance gate, state prison
1914Warden's office, state prison
1914Blacksmith shop, state prison
1914Insane asylum, state prison
1914Guard tower #15, state prison
1914Guard tower #12, state prison
1914P.G. & E. power houseFrom Wikipedia’s history of Folsom.
Prior to European settlement, the area in what is now Folsom was inhabited by the Nisenan tribe of Native Americans. The Gold Rush of 1849 brought violence, disease and displacement for the tribes of California.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Folsom, cut from the printed page as they were published.
During 1862 the Sacramento, Placer and Nevada Railroad was built from Folsom to a point near Newcastle. The road had been organized in 1859 to build an extension of the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Folsom via Auburn to Grass Valley and Nevada City. The public-spirited citizens of Auburn furnished funds which enabled it to be constructed from
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
built from Folsom to a point near Newcastle. The road had been organized in 1859 to build an extension of the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Folsom via Auburn to Grass Valley and Nevada City.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
built from Folsom to a point near Newcastle. The road had been organized in 1859 to build an extension of the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Folsom via Auburn to Grass Valley and Nevada City.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Hon. W. A. Anderson, who resided at Folsom in the early days. Mr. Anderson wrote as follows : "A few memories of the town of Folsom might interest the present generation. The first settlement of that locality was at Negro Bar, which was between the present site of Folsom and the American River. In 1849
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereDenver S. Church is born here
Born hereBen Deeley is born hereBuiltFolsom Depot is builtIn the archiveCalifornia's first flour mill
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyBuiltSouthern Pacific Railroad Section Superintendent House is built
In the archiveState prison at Folsom, Calif
In the archiveNatomas-6-gold dredge-1958
In the archiveFolsom State Prison is a California State PrisonEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Folsom. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Folsom.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1891Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Folsom’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 609 people in 1890 to 80,454 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Folsom’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Folsom post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Folsom is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #253 of 847 in California. 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.
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Folsom Powerhouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1981), and 1 site. 11 historic buildings in all.
1% of Folsom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1997.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (14), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2012
2012
