The story
Read it all →How Fulton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Fulton.
The community is named after Thomas and James Fulton, who founded the community.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Fulton
Fulton’s post office opened in 1871, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and old-book passages.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Fulton began
When was Fulton founded?
1871
The Fulton post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 551155 years
Founding year: the first Fulton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Fulton’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 Fulton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fulton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Fulton, 1889–1911
Passages that mention Fulton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 576Read the page →
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Russian River school disti'ict. This tine farm is located on the Guerneville branch of the North Pacific Railroad, near Meacham Station, about two miles west of the town of Fulton. Since taking up his residence here in 1880, Mr. Woolsey has devoted his attention to the breeding of thoroughbred sheep, fruit cultivation, and general farming. He has made many improve-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time1889 · page 524Read the page →
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iirst known as Fulton's Cross-Roads. Upon the completion of the North Pacific Railroad through this place, a town site was laid out and named Fulton. A postoifice was also established, and from that time the town has grown and prospered. Mr. Fulton has done much to produce this result. His liberality and enterprise have been felt in all public movements
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History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 1068Read the page →
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panionship and encouragement from such of his countrymen as were living in the vicinity. After looking about for a suitable tract of land he finally selected the ranch which is his home today, a very desirable tract of eighty acres within easy access to the tovvn of Fulton, which is his postoffice and market town. Knowledge of and familiarity with grape culture acquired in his native land have here been put to good account, for fifty acres of his land are tinder cultivation to the vine, and one hundred tons is an average year's yield. He finds a ready market for his fruit at the winery, for which he receives the uniform
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.
Timeline
Fulton, 1871 to 1942
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Fulton, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880s–1900s2 items
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2025
2023
2021
2011
2011On the map
Fulton on the map, 1942 to 1954
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fulton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1942Sebastopol sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fulton.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewFMIB 33935 Green-Turtle Cannery at, 1889
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fulton’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Fulton
Nobody well known was born in Fulton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Fulton’s history
What year was Fulton founded?
The Fulton post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.