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History · Tehama

Tehama’s post office opened in 1851, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Molino Lodge Building. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.

1851first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tehama’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tehama began

When was Tehama founded?

1851

The Tehama post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1906. Another post office, Hall's Ranch (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 328 in 18802020 census: 435175 years
Founding year: the first Tehama post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1906.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tehama’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.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1940, then more than doubled.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1969. Watch Tehama change.Old housesHalf of Tehama’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tehama’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSouthern Pacific Railroad Shasta Route,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Tehama, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020328 in 1880Low: 175

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1940, then more than doubled.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Tehama on the map, 1905 to 1969

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

Tehama on the 1905 USGS mapTehama on the 1952 USGS mapTehama on the 1969 USGS map1905Tehama 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 Tehama.

The story

How Tehama came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tehama.

Read it all →

A Nomlaki village of Wintun people once stood on the site of modern-day Tehama on the western bank of the Sacramento River.

Tehama (pronounced Tuh-HAY-muh) was founded by Robert Hasty Thomes, who arrived in the area that is now Tehama County in the company of Albert G. Toomes, William Chard, and Job Francis Dye. The four men travelled northward from San Francisco, and were each given land grants from the government of Mexico in 1844, with Thomes' portion being Rancho Saucos.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tehama, 1851 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Hall's Ranch post office opens
  3. 1851Post officeThe Hall's Ranch post office closes
  4. 1851Post officeThe Tehama post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 435
By decade

Tehama, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Southern Pacific Railroad Shasta Route, Bridge No. 210.52, Milepost 210.52Date?Southern Pacific Railroad Shasta Route, Bridge No. 21…
Today2 recent
Tehama - California - US2025Tehama - California - USMolino Lodge2006Molino Lodge
Every building

Tehama, building by building, 1889–1897

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.

Tehama fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Southern Pacific Railroad Shasta Route, Bridge No. 210.52, Milepost 210.52
Retake this viewSouthern Pacific Railroad Shasta Route, Bridge No. 210.52, Milepost 210.52

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Tehama

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
1980
Molino Lodge Building
Molino Lodge Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Molino Lodge BuildingGreek Revival

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Tehama

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

See all →
Aaron RodgersAmerican football player · b. 1983
D
Donovan ScottAmerican actor · b. 1947
Pat MastelottoAmerican musician · b. 1955
Blaire WhiteAmerican YouTuber and political commentator · b. 1993
R
Robert ShawAmerican conductor · b. 1916
Brian CageAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1984
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Tehama’s post office has been open since 1851. Another post office, Hall's Ranch, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hall's Ranch
1851–1851
Tehama
1851–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Tehama’s history

What year was Tehama founded?

The Tehama post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1906.

What is on the National Register in Tehama?

One place: the Molino Lodge Building (listed 1980).

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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.