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History · Lookout

Lookout dates to 1874, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.

1874founded
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lookout began

When was Lookout founded?

1874

Lookout dates its founding to 1874 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1880.

2020 census: 68152 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1880.

What stands out about Lookout’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lookout are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lookout’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lookout’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lookout’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Lookout, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lookout yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lookout (formerly, Whitley's Ford) is a census-designated place in Modoc County, California, United States. It is located 11 miles (18 km) west of Adin, at an elevation of 4144 feet (1263 m). Its population is 68 as of the 2020 census, down from 84 from the 2010 census. Lookout's ZIP Code is 96054. The Whitley's Ford post office operated from 1874 to 1875. The Lookout post office opened in 1880. The original name honors James W. Whitley, a local hotelier. The name Lookout recalls how Native Americans used nearby hills as observation points.

Lookout was established in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 84 to 68 (-19%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lookout in 1889

Passages that mention Lookout, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Lookout, and has added greatly to the comforts of the large population now living on that beautiful and historic bill-top. Next in importance to the railroads is the great river, whose passage to the Mississippi has been interrupted by the Muscle Shoals. These obstructions and the necessity of remo…
Historical guide to Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, with descriptions of the battles, battle-fields, climate, industries, minerals, timber, etc1889 · page 20Read the page →
Read the text

Lookout, and has added greatly to the comforts of the large population now living on that beautiful and historic bill-top. Next in importance to the railroads is the great river, whose passage to the Mississippi has been interrupted by the Muscle Shoals. These obstructions and the necessity of removing them are not by any means new discoveries. More than fifty years ago the whole question was discussed by the ablest statesmen and engineers in the country, and it is probable that the pernicious doctrine which prevailed at that time, that the General Government ought not to engage

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

Lookout, 1874 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874
    FoundingLookout is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Lookout post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On 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.

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On the map

Lookout on the map, 1961 to 1990

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

Lookout on the 1961 USGS mapLookout on the 1990 USGS map1961Bieber sheet · 1:62,500

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

Questions about Lookout’s history

What year was Lookout founded?

In 1874, according to Wikidata. Lookout’s post office opened in 1880.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 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.