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C−History
History · Lindsay

Lindsay’s post office opened in 1889

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #395 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Lindsay was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lindsay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lindsay began

When was Lindsay founded?

1889

The Lindsay post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1910.

First census: 1,814 in 19102020 census: 12,659137 years

How historic is Lindsay?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lindsay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1910.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lindsay’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lindsay is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #395 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lindsay’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.2% of homes (±3.1) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 53%

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 Lindsay’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1910.

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 Lindsay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Lindsay, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County, California1939Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citr…Near Lindsay, California. Citrus workers in winter quarters1939Near Lindsay, California. Citrus workers in winter qu…Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. (Tulare County)1939Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citr…Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County1939Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County, Ca…1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Lindsay, Califor…
1940s7 items
Olives. Lindsay, California1942Olives. Lindsay, CaliforniaOil dripping from olive pulp under hydraulic pressure. Lindsay, California1942Oil dripping from olive pulp under hydraulic pressure…Oil dripping from olive pulp under hydraulic pressure. Lindsay, California1942Oil dripping from olive pulp under hydraulic pressure…Bins of ripe olives to be turned into oil. Lindsay, California1942Bins of ripe olives to be turned into oil. Lindsay, C…Shoveling olives into hand truck at olive oil plant. Lindsay, California1942Shoveling olives into hand truck at olive oil plant. …Olive pulp under hydraulic pressure for extraction of oil. Lindsay, California1942Olive pulp under hydraulic pressure for extraction of…Centrifuges are used to separate the olive oil from water. Lindsay, California1942Centrifuges are used to separate the olive oil from w…
1950s–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
The story

How Lindsay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lindsay.

Read it all →

The Yandanchei tribe of Native Americans came to hunt and fish at the future site of Lindsay for centuries. Future Military Governor of California John C. Frémont passed through twice by way of the Stockton - Los Angeles Road and the later Butterfield Overland Mail route on two of his exploration trips. Julius Orton, a seventh generation descendant of Thomas, served as security for a pack train headed for Placerville, a booming California gold mining town, motivated by his futile search for gold. In 1859, with his wife and two small daughters, and driving a small herd of cattle, walked more than 200 miles (320 km) to a homestead along the Tule River, southwest of Lindsay. In the 1880s, Julius Orton homesteaded another (160 acres (0.65 km2)) piece of land bordering on the property of pioneers Lewis and John Keeley, brothers who had taken on a homestead just a few miles southwest of Linds…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lindsay, 1889 to 1942

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Lindsay post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Born hereWillard Maas is born here
  5. 1918Born hereJimmy McNatt is born here
  6. 1922Born hereJack Rocker is born here
  7. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1939In the archiveLindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County, California
  9. 1939Born hereBill Baird is born here
  10. 1942In the archiveOlives. Lindsay, California
On the map

Lindsay on the map, 1928 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lindsay. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lindsay on the 1928 USGS mapLindsay on the 1942 USGS mapLindsay on the 1951 USGS mapLindsay on the 1969 USGS map1928Lindsay sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lindsay.

Every building

Lindsay, building by building, 1912

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 sheet.

Lindsay fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 10
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Lindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County, California
Retake this viewLindsay, California. Houses inhabited by Mexican citrus workers. Tulare County, California, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lindsay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lindsay, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00019201940196019802000202012,659

Grew from 1,814 people in 1910 to 12,659 in 2020, 6 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lindsay’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Lindsay

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jack RockerBasketball player · b. 1922
B
Bill BairdAmerican football player · b. 1939
W
Willard MaasAmerican filmmaker · b. 1906
Jimmy McNattAmerican basketball player · b. 1918
K
Kareem LopezMexican singer · b. 1990
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Lindsay’s post office has been open since 1889.

Gone or out of use
Church of Christchurch

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Lindsay’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLindsay, California. Houses inhabited b…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Lindsay’s history

What year was Lindsay founded?

The Lindsay post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1910.

How does Lindsay rank for history?

Lindsay is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #395 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.

How old are the homes in Lindsay?

6% of Lindsay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1981.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From the Library of Congress (12), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.