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History · Climbing Hill

Climbing Hill’s post office opened in 1877, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Climbing Hill began

When was Climbing Hill founded?

1877

The Climbing Hill post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 97149 years
Founding year: the first Climbing Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Climbing Hill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Climbing Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Climbing Hill’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Climbing Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Climbing Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Climbing Hill.

Read it all →

The community was named by C. E. Ostrander, the first settler and postmaster, whose home was on high ground and could not be reached except by climbing a hill. The name was kept, though the community was moved several times and was finally located on level land circa 1867. Climbing Hill's population was 37 in 1902, and 83 in 1925. The population was 150 in 1940. Climbing Hill is also known as home of the Hancocks & McCoys.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Climbing Hill, 1877 to 1966

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Climbing Hill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1966Post officeThe Climbing Hill post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Climbing Hill on the map, 1964 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Climbing Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Climbing Hill on the 1964 USGS mapClimbing Hill on the 1986 USGS map1964Climbing Hill sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Climbing Hill.

Famous people

Famous people close to Climbing Hill

Nobody well known was born in Climbing Hill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Alan J. HeegerAmerican chemist, physicist · b. 1936
W. Edwards DemingAmerican professor, author, and consultant · b. 1900
Harry HopkinsAmerican politician, 8th United States Secretar… · b. 1890
Tommy BolinAmerican guitarist · b. 1951
Kirk HinrichAmerican basketball player · b. 1981
M
Morgan TaylorAthletics competitor · b. 1903
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Climbing Hill had its own post office from 1877 to 1966.

Climbing Hill
1877–1966
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Climbing Hill Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Climbing Hill
Westfork Township

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Climbing Hill’s history

What year was Climbing Hill founded?

The Climbing Hill post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.