Standard began as a Mi-Wuk village and became ranchland during the gold rush era, when the murderous Jim Lyons lived there. In 1909, Xavier Fassler sold his 567-acre dairy ranch to Standard Lumber Co. By the 1920s, the town had been sold to Pickering Lumber Company, and Standard became a typical company town: homes, stores, and the hospital were owned by Pickering, and workers were paid in Pickering script. Mexican workers lived in a section called “Little Tiajuana.” Louisiana Pacific, Fibreboard Corp., and Sierra Pacific Industries continued mill operations as the town declined. The last original homes were sold or razed in 1975, and the community church (1915) and main office building (1924) were renovated in 1998.