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B+History
History · Weaverville

Weaverville’s post office opened in 1850, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #43 of 847 in California. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1860.

1850first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Weaverville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Weaverville began

When was Weaverville founded?

1850

The Weaverville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Trinity (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 777 in 18602020 census: 3,667176 years

How historic is Weaverville?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Weaverville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Weaverville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weaverville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #43 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Weaverville’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±12.4) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 31 historic buildings, 77.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 95%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Weaverville’s 77.2 sits above most of its state (98% of California towns have fewer) while its 31 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Weaverville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Weaverville Historic District takes in 31 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1930, drew every building in Weaverville.Mystery photos7 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Weaverville’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 31 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
31
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Weaverville Historic District
Weaverville Historic District
Districts
Weaverville Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Every building

Weaverville, building by building, 1889–1930

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.

Weaverville fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Help out

Start Weaverville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo7 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAlfred Ose: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Weaverville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Weaverville.

Read it all →

Founded in 1850, Weaverville is a historic California Gold Rush town. Located at the foot of the current Trinity Alps Wilderness Area, Weaverville was once home to approximately 2,000 Chinese gold miners and had its own Chinatown. Many of these miners left once the gold rush ended, and the majority of the Chinatown burned down in a 1911 fire. Historical monuments and architecture throughout the town keep this history alive. The Joss House is California's oldest active Chinese temple, housing Chinese artifacts from the 19th century, and is Weaverville's oldest building, built in 1852.

A self-guided walking tour of historic downtown buildings (some said to be haunted) is the best way to experience the ambiance and quaint shops and businesses.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Weaverville, 1850 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Weaverville post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe Trinity post office opens
  4. 1878Post officeThe Trinity post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1973In the archiveAlfred Ose
By decade

Weaverville, decade by decade

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

1970s2 items
Alfred Ose1973Alfred OseAlfred Ose 19771977Alfred Ose 1977
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
Date unknown7 to date
Bar complex helibaseDate?Bar complex helibaseWeaverville Joss House, Oregon StreetDate?Weaverville Joss House, Oregon StreetStoreDate?StoreJumper HouseDate?Jumper HouseBlacksmith ShopDate?Blacksmith ShopOld Fire EngineDate?Old Fire EngineMain Street (General Views)Date?Main Street (General Views)
Today9 recent
Scenic view: logging in Northeast California2013Scenic view: logging in Northeast CaliforniaScenic view: logging in Northeast California2013Scenic view: logging in Northeast CaliforniaImplements at the Pioneer Blacksmith & Tin Shop2012Implements at the Pioneer Blacksmith & Tin ShopA carving of a miner in front of the Trinity Inn2012A carving of a miner in front of the Trinity InnImaginative road art above a small store2012Imaginative road art above a small storeWhat's left of an old jalopy2012What's left of an old jalopyA bear carving outside the Weaverville Victorian Inn2012A bear carving outside the Weaverville Victorian InnThe Weaverville Joss House, or temple, now a California State Historic Park2012The Weaverville Joss House, or temple, now a Californ…A carving of a minor in front of the Trinity Inn in Weaverville, a popular tourist destination in the Whiskeytown-Shast…2012A carving of a minor in front of the Trinity Inn in W…
On the map

Weaverville on the map, 1950 to 1998

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

Weaverville on the 1950 USGS mapWeaverville on the 1982 USGS mapWeaverville on the 1998 USGS map1950Weaverville 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 Weaverville.

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.

Alfred Ose
Retake this viewAlfred Ose, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Weaverville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900195020003,667

Grew from 777 people in 1860 to 3,667 in 2020, 4 times over.

9 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Weaverville

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

See all →
Megan RapinoeAmerican soccer player · b. 1985
J
Jim HanksAmerican actor · b. 1961
Brian Sandoval29th Governor of Nevada and former United State… · b. 1963
Francesca EastwoodAmerican actress · b. 1993
Scott LearyAmerican swimmer · b. 1881
K
Kevin SharpAmerican country music singer, author, and moti… · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Weaverville’s post office has been open since 1850. Another post office, Trinity, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Weaverville
1850–today
Trinity
1854–1878
18501940today
1cemetery inside Weaverville
Weaverville

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Douglas CityIts storyC−

Questions about Weaverville’s history

What year was Weaverville founded?

The Weaverville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Weaverville rank for history?

Weaverville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #43 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Weaverville?

One place: the Weaverville Historic District (listed 1971).

How old are the homes in Weaverville?

18% of Weaverville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1963.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (14), 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.