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History · Mad River

Mad River’s post office opened in 1872

Most of Mad River was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1949 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mad River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mad River began

When was Mad River founded?

1872

The Mad River post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 361154 years
Founding year: the first Mad River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mad River’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mad River’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Roge…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Mad River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mad River.

Read it all →

The stream was named in December 1849 by the Gregg Party. Myth has it that the leader of the party, in apparent anger with fellow companions over latitude positioning, coined the term when comparing the experience of the difficult exchange between his peers.

At the 2000 census, Mad River constituted a census county division (CCD). The population was 838 at the 2000 census. Most of the former CCD is covered by the Six Rivers National Forest and the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Mad River itself is near the western extent of Ruth Lake, the major water reservoir for the populated area around Humboldt Bay within Humboldt County located to the northwest.

ChaptersCommunities within the former CCDCreeks, lakes, rivers, and streamsDemographics

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mad River, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 11, 1934 FRONT ELEVATION - Erickson Ranch House,…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, …Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 11, 1934 GENERAL VIEW - Erickson Ranch Log Cabin…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, …Erickson Ranch HouseDate?Erickson Ranch HouseErickson Ranch Log CabinDate?Erickson Ranch Log Cabin
On the map

Mad River on the map, 1949 to 1997

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

Mad River on the 1949 USGS mapMad River on the 1951 USGS mapMad River on the 1977 USGS mapMad River on the 1997 USGS map1949Blocksburg 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 Mad River.

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.

Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 11, 1934 FRONT ELEVATION - Erickson Ranch House,…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Mar. 11, 1934 FRONT ELEVATION - Erickson Ranch House,…

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Mad River

Nobody well known was born in Mad River itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
S
Steven W. MosherAmerican social scientist · b. 1948
Randy NiemannAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1955
T
Tommie GinnAmerican football player · b. 1958
M
Mike BettigaAmerican football wide receiver · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Mad River’s post office has been open since 1872.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Sids Place
Gone or out of use
Dinsmore PitmineSimmons Camplocale

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

Questions about Mad River’s history

What year was Mad River founded?

The Mad River post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.