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History · Stockton

Stockton dates to 1863, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Stockton Jail and the Stockton School. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1870.

1863founded
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stockton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Stockton began

When was Stockton founded?

1863

Stockton dates its founding to 1863 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 80 in 18702020 census: 621163 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓

What stands out about Stockton’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1980. Watch Stockton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stockton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPlate 9 The Great Basin: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Stockton, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020515 in 1880Low: 238

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the map

Stockton on the map, 1918 to 1980

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

Stockton on the 1918 USGS mapStockton on the 1955 USGS mapStockton on the 1980 USGS map1918Stockton 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 Stockton.

The story

How Stockton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stockton.

Read it all →

Stockton was born of the first mining boom in the Utah Territory. The mining industry began in the early 1860s with the arrival of Col. Patrick E. Connor, commander of the Third California Volunteers, who had been sent to the territory in 1862 to keep an eye on the overland mail routes during the Civil War. Connor wanted to counterbalance his perceived dominance of Mormon leaders in the area by exploring and developing the territory's mineral wealth. He posited that if precious metals could be discovered in Utah, the resulting flood of miners into the territory would overwhelm the Mormons, and outsiders would balance the Church's power. So he sent the men under his command out to prospect, and they almost singlehandedly opened the precious metals industry in Utah in 1863 by locating deposits, staking claims, and establishing mining districts. Mines were dug on the western slopes of the …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stockton, 1863 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863
    FoundingStockton is established
  3. 1865Post officeThe Stockton post office opens
  4. 1890In the archivePlate 20 Map of the Pass Between Rush and Toole Valleys -Wave Built Barrier
  5. 20th century
  6. 1912BuiltStockton School is built
  7. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 621
By decade

Stockton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Plate 20 Map of the Pass Between Rush and Toole Valleys -Wave Built Barrier1890Plate 20 Map of the Pass Between Rush and Toole Valle…MapPlate 9 The Great Basin1890Plate 9 The Great Basin
1900s–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
Today2 recent
Stockton Utah Jail2010Stockton Utah JailStockton, Utah 20072007Stockton, Utah 2007
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.

Plate 9 The Great Basin
Retake this viewPlate 9 The Great Basin, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Stockton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Stockton Jail
Stockton JailStockton School, built 1912
Buildings
Stockton JailBuilding
Stockton SchoolBuilt 1912

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Stockton

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

See all →
Don L. LindAmerican astronaut · b. 1930
Gene FullmerAmerican boxer · b. 1931
Nathaniel ColemanAmerican sport climber · b. 1997
Scot PollardAmerican basketball player and reality televisi… · b. 1975
Dick MottaAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
K
Kaysha LoveAmerican bobsledder · b. 1997

Questions about Stockton’s history

What year was Stockton founded?

In 1863, according to Wikidata. Stockton’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1870 counted 80 people here.

What is on the National Register in Stockton?

Two places: the Stockton Jail (listed 1985) and the Stockton School (2018).

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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.