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History · Martell

Martell’s post office opened in 1905

Most of Martell was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1949. Below: maps from 1941 on.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Martell began

When was Martell founded?

1905

The Martell post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 207121 years
Founding year: the first Martell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Martell’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 Martell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Martell’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martell’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

Martell, in brief

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

Martell (formerly Oneida) is a census-designated place in Amador County, California, United States. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Jackson, at an elevation of 1486 feet (453 m). The population was 207 at the 2020 census. Martell is located west of Jackson and east of Ione, by which it is connected by the Amador Central Railroad. Martell is where several major retail and restaurant outlets for Amador County are located. The community is in ZIP code 95654 and area code 209.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 282 to 207 (-27%).

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

Timeline

Martell, 1905 to 1973

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Martell post office opens
  3. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1973Post officeThe Martell post office closes
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.
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On the map

Martell on the map, 1941 to 1962

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

Martell on the 1941 USGS mapMartell on the 1957 USGS mapMartell on the 1962 USGS map1941Sutter Creek 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 Martell.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Martell had its own post office from 1905 to 1973.

Martell
1905–1973
19001960today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sutter Creek2 historic placesAJackson9 historic placesA

Questions about Martell’s history

What year was Martell founded?

The Martell post office opened in 1905, 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 →
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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) 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.