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History · Lookout

Lookout’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Lookout. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1874established
0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Lookout (formerly, Whitley's Ford) is a census-designated place in Modoc County, California, United States. It is located 11 miles (18 km) west of Adin, at an elevation of 4144 feet (1263 m). Its population is 68 as of the 2020 census, down from 84 from the 2010 census. Lookout's ZIP Code is 96054. The Whitley's Ford post office operated from 1874 to 1875. The Lookout post office opened in 1880. The original name honors James W. Whitley, a local hotelier. The name Lookout recalls how Native Americans used nearby hills as observation points.

Lookout was established in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 84 to 68 (-19%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lookout yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Lookout’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from LookoutWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Lookout.Meet them →
By decade

Lookout, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings 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 Lookout is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Lookout has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Adin Supply Company in Adin, 10.9 miles away.

Lookout and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Lookout. Tap a dot.
Adin Supply Company

Closest to Lookout

Adin Supply CompanyAdin · Built 190610.9mi

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. Adin Supply Company’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Lookout?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Lookout’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

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Alturas
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Lookout, CAView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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