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C+History
History · Oakdale

Oakdale’s post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #188 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Oakdale was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listing is the First National Bank of Oakdale Building. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Oakdale began

When was Oakdale founded?

1871

The Oakdale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 376 in 18802020 census: 23,181155 years

How historic is Oakdale?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Oakdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakdale is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #188 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oakdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±2.5) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 78%

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 Oakdale’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (70% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Oakdale’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 Oakdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1912, drew every building in Oakdale.On the map since 19155 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1987. Watch Oakdale change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakdale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Oakdale, building by building, 1884–1912

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 year, then a sheet.

Oakdale fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

On the map

Oakdale on the map, 1915 to 1987

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

Oakdale on the 1915 USGS mapOakdale on the 1942 USGS mapOakdale on the 1953 USGS mapOakdale on the 1968 USGS mapOakdale on the 1987 USGS map1915Oakdale 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 Oakdale.

The story

How Oakdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oakdale.

Read it all →

The city was founded in 1871 when the Stockton and Visalia Railroad met the Copperopolis Railroad. The site of Taylor's Ferry Crossing is located in Oakdale, a crossing of the Stanislaus River on the 19th century Stockton - Los Angeles Road.

Oakdale was used as a film location for the United Artists film Bound For Glory starring David Carradine. Oakdale doubled as a dusty 'Texas' town using railroad scenes for the film. Oakdale was nominated for an award for having the most almond trees per capita per square mile in the state of California.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Oakdale in 1921

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

of the river, Moulton was compelled to await the completion of the bridge. The work on the bridge was hurried along and September 25, 1871, the reporter wrote: "Soon the whistle of the iron horse will be heard in the grove of gigantic live oaks among which is situated the new town of Oakdale, the m…
History of Stanislaus County California1921 · page 86Read the page →
Read the text

of the river, Moulton was compelled to await the completion of the bridge. The work on the bridge was hurried along and September 25, 1871, the reporter wrote: "Soon the whistle of the iron horse will be heard in the grove of gigantic live oaks among which is situated the new town of Oakdale, the most pleasant and inviting pleasure ground in the whole San Joaquin Valley." Passenger trains were running to Oakdale, commencing September 9, and from the end of the line they took stages for Burnett's Station ; Sisson's stage line connecting at Burnett's for Knights Ferry and other mountain camps. There was but one train a day. It left Stockton at 7 A. M. and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Banks and Banking Oakdale has two fine banks, each bank carrying on business in its own handsome two-story brick building. The first bank in Oakdale, incorporated in 1884, was a complete failure. The Oakdale Bank was incorporated in January, 1888, with Thomas B. Dorsey, president; Louis Kahn, cashi…
History of Stanislaus County California1921 · page 200Read the page →
Read the text

Banks and Banking Oakdale has two fine banks, each bank carrying on business in its own handsome two-story brick building. The first bank in Oakdale, incorporated in 1884, was a complete failure. The Oakdale Bank was incorporated in January, 1888, with Thomas B. Dorsey, president; Louis Kahn, cashier, and H. Kahn, assistant cashier.

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

Oakdale, 1871 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Oakdale post office opens
  3. 1898Born hereAlbert Burns is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1922Born hereMarch Fong Eu is born here
  7. 1946Born hereBruce Coslet is born here
  8. 1951Born hereJane Swagerty is born here
By decade

Oakdale, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Welcome to2025Welcome toCitizens voice ideas about Stanislaus River Parks master plan update2016Citizens voice ideas about Stanislaus River Parks mas…War-memorial-Dorada-Park-Oakdale-CA2014War-memorial-Dorada-Park-Oakdale-CAA.L. Gilbert Co2014A.L. Gilbert CoMorning rush2013Morning rushLife Jacket Trade-in Day 20132013Life Jacket Trade-in Day 2013CA-120 Oakdale May 20112011CA-120 Oakdale May 2011Sierra Golden Sunset Brunch train leaving2009Sierra Golden Sunset Brunch train leavingSRR -50 Eastbound out of Oakdale June 30 092009SRR -50 Eastbound out of Oakdale June 30 09Hwy 120 at Hwy 108 in2007Hwy 120 at Hwy 108 in
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oakdale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
First National Bank of Oakdale Building
First National Bank of Oakdale Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
First National Bank of Oakdale BuildingRomanesque

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Oakdale, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001880190019201940196019802000202023,181

Grew from 376 people in 1880 to 23,181 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Oakdale

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

See all →
J
Jane SwagertyAmerican swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist · b. 1951
March Fong EuAmerican politician · b. 1922
Albert BurnsEarly 20th Century Motorcycle Racer · b. 1898
B
Bruce CosletAmerican football player and coach · b. 1946
E
Eric MedlenAmerican racing driver · b. 1973
Bob Pifferini, Sr.American football player · b. 1922
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East OakdaleIts storyC−

Questions about Oakdale’s history

What year was Oakdale founded?

The Oakdale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Oakdale rank for history?

Oakdale is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #188 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.

What is on the National Register in Oakdale?

One place: the First National Bank of Oakdale Building (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Oakdale?

8% of Oakdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.