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Terminous, California (drone)Photo: AnonymousEditor95 · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Terminous

Terminous’ post office opened in 1895, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Terminous was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Terminous Culling Chute. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1910 on.

1895first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: AnonymousEditor95 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Terminous began

When was Terminous founded?

1895

The Terminous post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 429131 years
Founding year: the first Terminous post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Terminous’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19104 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1978. Watch Terminous change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Terminous’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Terminous’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 photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Terminous on the map, 1910 to 1978

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

Terminous on the 1910 USGS mapTerminous on the 1952 USGS mapTerminous on the 1969 USGS mapTerminous on the 1978 USGS map1910Headreach sheet · 1:31,680

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

The story so far

Terminous, in brief

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

Terminous is a census-designated place in San Joaquin County, California. Terminous sits at an elevation of 7 feet (2.1 m) below sea level. It is located on the Terminous Tract, an island of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The 2020 United States census reported Terminous's population as 429. Terminous was named from its location at the "terminus" of a road. Terminous was also the location of a Western Pacific Railroad branch for Delta growers to ship their goods.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 381 to 429 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Terminous, 1895 to 1918

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895Post officeThe Terminous post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1918Post officeThe Terminous post office closes
By decade

Terminous, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
NASA Worldwind, USGS imagery map, Terminous Tract, CaliforniaDate?NASA Worldwind, USGS imagery map, Terminous Tract, Ca…MapNASA Worldwind, USGS imagery mapDate?NASA Worldwind, USGS imagery mapMap
Today1 recent
Tower Park Pump House2012Tower Park Pump House
On the National Register

1 historic place in Terminous

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
1984
Terminous Culling Chute
Terminous Culling Chute
Buildings
All 1 listings
Terminous Culling ChuteBuilding · listed 1984

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Terminous

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

See all →
Chris IsaakAmerican rock musician · b. 1956
Daniel GolemanAmerican psychologist and journalist · b. 1946
Nate DiazAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1985
Kara WalkerAmerican painter and installation artist · b. 1969
Nick DiazAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1983
Mike HondaAmerican politician · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Terminous had its own post office from 1895 to 1918.

Terminous
1895–1918
18901960today

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

Questions about Terminous’ history

What year was Terminous founded?

The Terminous post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Terminous?

One place: the Terminous Culling Chute (listed 1984).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.