Jamestown’s post office opened in 1853, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #98 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Jamestown was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Jamestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Jamestown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jamestown is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #98 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jamestown’s overall grade.
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 Jamestown’s 27.6 sits above most of its state (96% of California towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
What stands out about Jamestown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fairway AcresMother Lode WestRolling HillsVolponi Acres
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jamestown
JamestownJamestownJamestown Masonic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Jamestown, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jamestown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Jamestown is an unincorporated community in Tuolumne County, California, United States. Formerly a California Gold Rush town, Jamestown was designated a California Historical Landmark on March 16, 1949. It is the home of Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the Sierra Railway, which operates steam passenger trains. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined the community as a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 3,478 at the 2020 census, up from 3,433 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1853. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,433 in 2010, 3,478 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Jamestown in 1882
Passages that mention Jamestown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Tuolumne County, California1882 · page 323Read the page →
Read the text
Fitzgerald, and the following year the young couple "crossed the Plains," coming with their ox-teams via Salt Lake, arriving in Tuolumne in November, '52. After a short time spent in mining in Jamestown, he accepted a situation in a sawmill on Sullivan's Creek, remaining so employed for two years; then purchasing the ranch now owned by Mr. Major, but selling it in 1856, to occupy his present beautiful farm, situated in the loveliest of valleys,
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
Jamestown, 1853 to 1995
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jamestown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Sonora 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 Jamestown.
Every building
Jamestown, building by building, 1898–1908
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.
The Jamestown post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jamestown rank for history?
Jamestown is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #98 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.
What is on the National Register in Jamestown?
Three places: the Emporium (listed 1978), the Sierra Railway Locomotive No. 3 (2023) and the Sierra Railway Shops Historic District (2021).
How old are the homes in Jamestown?
10% of Jamestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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