Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Onyx

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Onyx

Onyx’s post office opened in 1889

Most of Onyx was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 2000.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Qfl247 (Transferred by Citypeek/Original uploaded by Qfl247) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Onyx began

When was Onyx founded?

1889

The Onyx post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 476 in 20002020 census: 457137 years
Founding year: the first Onyx post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Onyx’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 Onyx are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Onyx’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Onyx’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
The story

How Onyx came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Onyx.

Read it all →

The place was originally called Scodie in honor of William Scodie, who opened a store in 1861. The first post office at Onyx opened in 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Onyx, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Pink Along Isabella Walker Pass2013Pink Along Isabella Walker PassOnyxCA2010OnyxCAOnyx store2008Onyx storeOnyx California sign along State Route 1782008Onyx California sign along State Route 178Onyx California post office2007Onyx California post office
On the map

Onyx on the map, 1943 to 1985

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

Onyx on the 1943 USGS mapOnyx on the 1972 USGS mapOnyx on the 1985 USGS map1943Onyx 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 Onyx.

People over time

Onyx, census by census

010020030040050020002020Peak: 476

Between 457 and 476 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

WeldonIts storyC−

Questions about Onyx’s history

What year was Onyx founded?

The Onyx post office opened in 1889, 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 (5), 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.