Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Philo

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 · Philo

Philo’s post office opened in 1888, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1943 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Philo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Philo began

When was Philo founded?

1888

The Philo post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 319138 years
Founding year: the first Philo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Philo’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Philo’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Philo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Philo, in brief

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

Philo is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Boonville, at an elevation of 331 feet (101 m). The population was 319 at the 2020 census. Philo is located in Anderson Valley in western Mendocino County. Situated along Indian Creek as it flows into the Navarro River, Philo is the home of KZYX, the local public radio station. Two small specialty lumber mills in Philo are all that remain of a once vigorous timber economy in Anderson Valley. Philo is the heart of the Anderson Valley wine region. The first post office opened in 1888. The ZIP Code is 95466. The community is inside area code 707. Two versions of how Phi…

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 349 to 319 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Philo, 1888 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Philo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1971In the archiveNursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir cuttings planted at Husch Vineyards 1971
By decade

Philo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Nursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir cuttings planted at Husch Vineyards 19711971Nursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir cuttings plant…
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Husch vineyards2025Husch vineyardsGowan's Oak Tree Fruit Stand - August 2022 - Sarah Stierch2022Gowan's Oak Tree Fruit Stand - August 2022 - Sarah St…Redwoods - panoramio (1)2011Redwoods - panoramio (1)Rustic, Anderson Valley2007Rustic, Anderson Valley
On the map

Philo on the map, 1943 to 1991

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

Philo on the 1943 USGS mapPhilo on the 1959 USGS mapPhilo on the 1991 USGS map1943Boonville 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 Philo.

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.

Nursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir cuttings planted at Husch Vineyards 1971
Retake this viewNursery tag for purchase of Pinot Noir cuttings planted at Husch Vineyards 1971, 1971

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Philo

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

See all →
Jim RossAmerican professional wrestling commentator, pr… · b. 1952
ArmanFrench-born American artist · b. 1928
Shiloh FernandezAmerican actor · b. 1985
D
David Del TrediciAmerican composer · b. 1937
Edith CeccarelliAmerican supercentenarian · b. 1908
Holly NearAmerican actress, singer and activist · b. 1949

Questions about Philo’s history

What year was Philo founded?

The Philo post office opened in 1888, 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), 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.