The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The Western Pacific Railroad was extended to Thornton in 1907. A post office called Thornton has been in operation since 1910. The community was named for Arthur Thornton, the original owner of the town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Thornton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thornton’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Thornton, decade by decade
Before
2000
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 albumToday1 photo
National Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Thornton is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Thornton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Brewster Building in Galt, 3.8 miles away.
Thornton and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Thornton. Tap a dot.
Closest to Thornton
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. Brewster Building’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Thornton?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Thornton’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational 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’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.