Mitchell’s post office opened in 1855, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Mitchell Powerhouse and Dam.
How Mitchell began
When was Mitchell founded?
The Mitchell post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Mitchell (1861), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
1 historic place in Mitchell
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Mitchell had its own post office from 1855 to 1966. Another post office, West Mitchell, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Mitchell’s history
What year was Mitchell founded?
The Mitchell post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Mitchell?
One place: the Mitchell Powerhouse and Dam (listed 1978).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.