Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Ukiah was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1980.
The Ukiah post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1969.
Ukiah was named by an early settler after the town of Ukiah, California.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ukiah’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ukiah.
The Camas Land Company platted Ukiah in August 1890. E. B. Gambee, who moved from Ukiah, California, to Oregon in 1881, suggested the name. DeWitt C. Whiting was the first postmaster in Ukiah, where a post office opened in September 1890.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ukiah. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ukiah.
Between 159 and 255 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ukiah’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Ukiah itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Ukiah post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1969.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), 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.
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