Most of Klamath was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1990.
The Klamath post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Requa (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 827 in 19902020 census: 1,088160 years
Founding year: the first Klamath post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Klamath’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Klamath had its own post office from 1866 to 1872. Another post office, Requa, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Klamath
1866–1872
Requa
1878–1970
Klamath
1887–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp KlamathHoppawKlamath GlenRekwoiRequaScaath
Gone or out of use
Klamath Air Force StationmilitaryRequa SchoolschoolTerwer Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Klamath, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Klamath yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Klamath (Tolowa: Taa-chit) is an unincorporated community in Del Norte County, California, United States, situated on US Route 101, inland from the mouth of the Klamath River. The population of Klamath is 1088 based on the 2020 US Census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Klamath as a census-designated place (CDP). Klamath is at an elevation of 30 feet (9.1 m). Klamath is located within the Yurok Indian Reservation. The original town center was destroyed by the 1964 Flood. Streets and sidewalks of this original site, west of US 101 and the current site of the town's core, remain visible.
Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 779 to 1,088 (+40%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Klamath, 1881–1917
Passages that mention Klamath, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Del Norte County, California1881 · page 50Read the page →
Read the text
It located the seat of Justice at Crescent- City, and ordered an election held in May, 1857, for the election of county officers. For Senatorial purposes Del Norte was attached to Klamath, and for Judicial purposes to the 8th Judicial District. The bill also provided that Del Norte pay one third of the indebtedness of Klamath county, and that it was to issue bonds therefor, bearing ten per cent, per annum interest, to Klamath county. Twenty per
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
quite the equal of the hotel for excellent service and up-to-date equipment. In fact, both hotel and garage would do credit to a place ten times the size of Klamath Falls. To be sure, Klamath Falls expects to be a place of ten times its present size in the somewhat indefinite future — several railroad projects are now under way which, when complete, will make accessible much more of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Klamath Lake is now playing a similar part in lumbering to that which Tahoe underwent thirty years ago and we must confess that it does not add to the beauty of the scene. Yet we realized when we ascended the long grades which brought us to splendid vantage points commanding prac¬ tically the whole lake, that Klamath was very beautiful and picturesque — not the equal of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Del Norte County, California1881 · page 63Read the page →
Read the text
The Legislature of 1858--9 ajspointed Commissioners to apportion the Funded Debt of Klamath county, and the interest thereon, between the counties of Klamath and Del Norte. This question had long been a bone of contection between the two counties, and several attempts to settle the matter had been made without success. The Act appointing the Commissioners provided and specified that the revenue of seven months of the year, namely, from
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
Klamath, 1866 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (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 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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