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History · Sacramento

Sacramento was first counted by the census in 1860, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1860.

1860first census
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Sacramento began

When was Sacramento founded?

1860

Sacramento first appears in the census in 1860. Another post office, Social Hill (1852), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 373 in 18602020 census: 429166 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Sacramento’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 Sacramento are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1860 and 1880, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sacramento’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Sacramento, census by census

0100200300400500600190019502000373 in 1860Low: 172

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1880, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Sacramento came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sacramento.

Read it all →

The first community at the site was known as "Crossroads", but the post office established in 1852 was named "Social Hill". In 1854, George L. Helm platted the town and renamed it Sacramento. Local tradition holds the name was suggested by John Vickers, recently returned from the California Gold Rush. The city was incorporated on October 8, 1860, and the post office followed suit the next year.

ChaptersEarly historyThe Battle of Sacramento

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sacramento, 1852 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Social Hill post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Social Hill post office closes
  4. 1861Post officeThe Sacramento post office opens
  5. 1895Born hereHarry F. Adams is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 563
By decade

Sacramento, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Sacramento, Kentucky Civil War reenactment2019Sacramento, Kentucky Civil War reenactmentSacramento-water-tower-ky2018Sacramento-water-tower-kySacramento-post-office-ky2018Sacramento-post-office-kySacramento-Moore-House-ky2018Sacramento-Moore-House-kySacramento-Main-ky2018Sacramento-Main-kySacramento-City-Hall-ky2018Sacramento-City-Hall-kySacramento community cemetery2014Sacramento community cemeteryBattlefield at2014Battlefield atKYMap-doton-Sacramento2004KYMap-doton-Sacramento
On the map

Sacramento on the map, 1909 to 1952

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

Sacramento on the 1909 USGS mapSacramento on the 1952 USGS map1909Madisonville 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 Sacramento.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Sacramento’s post office has been open since 1861. Another post office, Social Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Social Hill
1852–1861
Sacramento
1861–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Sacramento’s history

What year was Sacramento founded?

The Sacramento post office opened in 1860, 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 (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.