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History · Olancha

Olancha dates to 1860

Most of Olancha was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1988 on and the census since 2000.

1860founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Rue7wiki · Public domain
Quick answers

How Olancha began

When was Olancha founded?

1860

Olancha dates its founding to 1860 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 134 in 20002020 census: 131166 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓

What stands out about Olancha’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 Olancha are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 192 in 2010; 131 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Olancha’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Olancha’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
People over time

Olancha, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 192

Peaked at 192 in 2010; 131 people lived here in 2020.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

The story

How Olancha came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Olancha.

Read it all →

Olancha was established by Minnard Farley, who came to the area in 1860 and discovered silver ore in the nearby Coso Range. The name "Olancha" is believed to be derived from the nearby Yaudanche tribe. For processing the ore, he built a stamp mill just south of Olancha Creek. The remains of a stone wall from this mill still exists and has been designated as a California Historical Site (marker #796).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Olancha, 1860 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860
    FoundingOlancha is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Olancha post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1988On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 192
By decade

Olancha, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Olancha from the US-3152016Olancha from the US-315Olancha city limit sign along Southbound HWY 395 on June 18 20102010Olancha city limit sign along Southbound HWY 395 on J…
On the map

Olancha on the map, 1988 to 1994

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

Olancha on the 1988 USGS mapOlancha on the 1994 USGS map1988Olancha sheet · 1:24,000

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Olancha’s post office has been open since 1870.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grant
Gone or out of use
Adamson Landing Fieldairport

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.

CartagoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Olancha’s history

What year was Olancha founded?

In 1860, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Olancha’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 2000 counted 134 people here.

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.