The story
Read it all →How Lakehead came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lakehead.
In 2018, the western part of Lakehead was closed to the public due to the Carr Fire.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Lakehead
Lakehead’s post office opened in 1950
Most of Lakehead was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 2000.
1950first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Lakehead began
When was Lakehead founded?
1950
The Lakehead post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Smithson (1883), Gregory (1900) and Antler (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 549 in 20002020 census: 46976 years
Founding year: the first Lakehead post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Lakehead’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Lakehead’s post office has been open since 1950. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Smithson
Gregory
Antler
Pollock
Loftus
Lakehead
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AntlersLakeshorePollockRiverview
1cemetery inside Lakehead
Lakehead
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Lakehead’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lakehead’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Lakehead, 1883 to 1946
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1883Post officeThe Smithson post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Smithson post office closes
- 20th century
- 1900Post officeThe Gregory post office opens
- 1908Post officeThe Gregory post office closes
- 1908Post officeThe Antler post office opens
- 1914Post officeThe Antler post office closes
- 1946
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Lakehead on the map, 1946 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lakehead. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Lamoine 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 Lakehead.
People over time
Lakehead, census by census
Between 461 and 549 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lakehead’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Lakehead
Nobody well known was born in Lakehead itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Lakehead’s history
What year was Lakehead founded?
The Lakehead post office opened in 1950, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.