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C−History
History · Loomis

Loomis dates to 1861

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #553 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Loomis was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1970.

1861founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Loomis’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Loomis began

When was Loomis founded?

1861

Loomis dates its founding to 1861 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 1,108 in 19702020 census: 6,836165 years

How historic is Loomis?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Loomis’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Loomis is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #553 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Loomis’ overall grade.
Founding era1861, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±1.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 16%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 35%

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 Loomis’ 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1861.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Loomis’ past

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

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Loomis.
★ What stands out · By decade

Loomis, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s23 items
House. Loomis, California1940House. Loomis, CaliforniaFruit crates. Loomis, California1940Fruit crates. Loomis, CaliforniaMember of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Member of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis, Place…Store. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Store. Loomis, Placer County, CaliforniaTable. Dinner of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Table. Dinner of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis…Grocery store. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Grocery store. Loomis, Placer County, CaliforniaIn the kitchen. Dinner of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis, Placer County, California1940In the kitchen. Dinner of the Loomis Fruit Associatio…In the kitchen at dinner of the Loomis Fruit Association. Loomis, Placer County, California1940In the kitchen at dinner of the Loomis Fruit Associat…Members and their wives of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Members and their wives of the Loomis Fruit Associati…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fort…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fort…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fort…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative at dinner after their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, California1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative a…Packing sheds of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative, forty years in existence. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Packing sheds of the Loomis Fruit Association coopera…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at dinner after their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association at dinner aft…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative sitting down to dinner after their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis,…1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative s…Serving dinner for members of the Loomis Fruit Association after their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, …1940Serving dinner for members of the Loomis Fruit Associ…Decorations at the dinner of the Loomis Fruit Association at their fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Placer County, Cali…1940Decorations at the dinner of the Loomis Fruit Associa…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Store. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Store. Loomis, P…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Members and their wives of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative. Loomis, Place…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Members and thei…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Grocery store. Loomis, Placer County, California1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Grocery store. L…Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative and their wives at dinner after fortieth annual meeting. Loomis, Pl…1940Members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative a…Dishing up dinner for the members of the Loomis Fruit Association cooperative who are holding their fortieth annual mee…1940Dishing up dinner for the members of the Loomis Fruit…
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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Loomis’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Smithville
1862–1869
Pino
1869–1890
Loomis
1890–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Japanese Schoolschool

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

The story

How Loomis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Loomis.

Read it all →

The Placer post office opened on the site in 1861, changed its name to Smithville in 1862, then changed it to Pino in 1869, and in 1890 the Southern Pacific Railroad finally decided on Loomis. The railroad and Post Office found that Pino was confused with the town of Reno, hence the name change to Loomis. The name Smithville honors L.G. Smith, who was one of the town's most prominent leaders.

Loomis takes its name from one of the town's pioneers, James Loomis. At one time, James Loomis was the whole town—saloon keeper, railroad agent, express agent, and postmaster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Loomis, 1861 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861
    FoundingLoomis is established
  3. 1862Post officeThe Smithville post office opens
  4. 1869Post officeThe Smithville post office closes
  5. 1869Post officeThe Pino post office opens
  6. 1890Post officeThe Pino post office closes
  7. 1890Post officeThe Loomis post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1921Born hereDean Samuel Laird is born here
  10. 1940In the archiveHouse. Loomis, California
  11. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1997Born hereMaxxine Dupri is born here
On the map

Loomis on the map, 1944 to 1981

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

Loomis on the 1944 USGS mapLoomis on the 1954 USGS mapLoomis on the 1967 USGS mapLoomis on the 1981 USGS map1944Auburn 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 Loomis.

Every building

Loomis, building by building, 1913

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.

Loomis fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

House. Loomis, California
Retake this viewHouse. Loomis, California, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Loomis, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,5001980200020206,836

Grew from 1,108 people in 1970 to 6,836 in 2020, 6 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Loomis

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

See all →
M
Maxxine DupriAmerican professional wrestler and wrestling ma… · b. 1997
D
Dean Samuel Laird(1920-2020) American naval pilot · b. 1921
Help out

Finish Loomis’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHouse. Loomis, California: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Rocklin1 historic placeCGranite BayIts storyD−

Questions about Loomis’ history

What year was Loomis founded?

In 1861, according to Wikidata. Loomis’ post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1970 counted 1,108 people here.

How does Loomis rank for history?

Loomis is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #553 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 Loomis?

1% of Loomis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (23), 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.