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History · Pike

Pike’s post office opened in 1895

Most of Pike was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1949 on.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pike began

When was Pike founded?

1895

The Pike post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pike City (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 159131 years
Founding year: the first Pike post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Pike’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pike’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

Pike, in brief

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

Pike, formerly Pike City is a census-designated place in Sierra County, California, United States. Pike is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) west-southwest of Alleghany. The community was named after Pike County, Missouri. The post office in Pike opened as Pike City Post Office in 1877, became Pike Post Office in 1895, and closed in 1954. The population was 159 at the 2020 census. Pike is the home of playwright and director Zach Helm.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 134 to 159 (+19%).

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

Timeline

Pike, 1877 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Pike City post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Pike City post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Pike post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1954Post officeThe Pike 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

Pike on the map, 1949 to 2000

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

Pike on the 1949 USGS mapPike on the 1951 USGS mapPike on the 2000 USGS map1949Pike 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 Pike.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pike

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

See all →
Joanna NewsomAmerican musician (b. 1982) · b. 1982
Christopher StevensAmerican diplomat, lawyer and ambassador to Lib… · b. 1960
Terry RileyAmerican composer and musician · b. 1935
Josiah RoyceAmerican philosopher · b. 1855
Jeremy SistoAmerican actor · b. 1974
Tully MarshallAmerican actor · b. 1864
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Pike had its own post office from 1895 to 1954. Another post office, Pike City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pike City
1877–1895
Pike
1895–1954
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Nelson Mill
Gone or out of use
Alaska Minemine
1cemetery inside Pike
Pike City

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

Questions about Pike’s history

What year was Pike founded?

The Pike post office opened in 1895, 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 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.