Modesto’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Modesto. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The City of Modesto was originally a stop on the railroad connecting Sacramento to Los Angeles, built by Central Pacific Railroad. When Modesto was founded in 1870, the railroad company co-founder Mark Hopkins Jr. suggested to name it after his associate the banker William C. Ralston. Ralston asked that another name be found, and a railroad employee exclaimed loudly in Spanish that Ralston was a modest man. The railroad company co-founder Charles Crocker then named the town Modesto in recognition of Ralston's modesty.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Modesto’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Modesto’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view10th Street, Modesto, California,…, c. 1875: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Modesto, decade by decade
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 10th Street, Modesto, California, circa 1875 (c. 1875) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.