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History · Modoc

Modoc’s post office opened in 1883, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Modoc’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Modoc began

When was Modoc founded?

1883

The Modoc post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 221 in 19002020 census: 157143 years
Founding year: the first Modoc post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Modoc’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 Modoc’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 275 in 1950; 157 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Modoc’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Modoc’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 viewModoc-indiana-from-above: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Modoc came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Modoc.

Read it all →

There are several legends to how the town of Modoc got its name. One of them said that a man travelling on the train threw out a cigar box containing the name Modoc, and that Henry Conley, one of the first settlers of the town, picked it up and suggested to bystanders that it would be a good name for the town. Another theory is that Modoc was named after the Modoc people who were traditionally located in northern California. They became noted for their resistance to the US Army during the Modoc War, ending in 1873.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Modoc, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 275

Peaked at 275 in 1950; 157 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

Modoc, 1883 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Modoc post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 275
  5. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Modoc, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Modoc-indiana-from-aboveDate?Modoc-indiana-from-above
Today2 recent
Modoc,Indiana2016Modoc,IndianaModoc, Indiana2016Modoc, Indiana
On the map

Modoc on the map, 1960 to 1986

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

Modoc on the 1960 USGS mapModoc on the 1986 USGS map1960Modoc 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 Modoc.

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.

Modoc-indiana-from-above
Retake this viewModoc-indiana-from-above

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Modoc

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

See all →
Robert WiseAmerican film director, film producer and film … · b. 1914
C
Chester Burleigh WattsAmerican astronomer · b. 1889
James Eli WatsonAmerican politician, Indiana (Republican) · b. 1864
Zack ThompsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1997
Omer Madison KemAmerican politician · b. 1855
Charles H. BlackAmerican businessman · b. 1850

Questions about Modoc’s history

What year was Modoc founded?

The Modoc post office opened in 1883, 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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.