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History · Firebaugh

A history of Firebaugh,
since 1914

Postcards, papers and photographs of Firebaugh from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

1914established
6old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The city, formerly Firebaugh's Ferry, is named for Andrew D. Firebaugh (also spelled Fierbaugh, born in Virginia in 1823), an area entrepreneur. During the Gold Rush, Firebaugh's most famous local enterprise was a ferry boat which shuttled people across the San Joaquin River. In 1857, he built a toll road for wagons, replacing an earlier horse trail that ran parallel to present-day State Route 152 from what became Bell Station over Pacheco Pass to the Rancho San Luis Gonzaga.

Firebaugh was a station on the Butterfield Overland Stage. The Firebaugh's Ferry post office operated from 1860 to 1862. The Firebaugh post office opened in 1865.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1914Established
1940s6 items · California [Alameda County - Kern Cou…Commons
1950–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Firebaugh’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern…, 1940: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from FirebaughWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Firebaugh.Meet them →
By decade

Firebaugh, decade by decade

1940s6 items
California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]CommonsCalifornia [Alameda County - Kern County (part)]1940
1950s–
1990s
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
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Firebaugh is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Firebaugh has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Madera County Courthouse in Madera, 22.9 miles away.

Firebaugh and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Firebaugh. Tap a dot.
Madera County Courthouse

Closest to Firebaugh

Madera County CourthouseMadera · Building22.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Madera County Courthouse’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Firebaugh?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Firebaugh’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as California [Alameda County - Kern County (part)] (1940) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Mendota📜 Dos Palos📜 Chowchilla📜 Madera

From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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