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BHistory
History · American Falls

American Falls’ post office opened in 1882, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #15 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1910.

1882first post office
9on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From American Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How American Falls began

When was American Falls founded?

1882

The American Falls post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 953 in 19102020 census: 4,568144 years

How historic is American Falls?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first American Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives American Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, American Falls is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #15 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of American Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.7% of homes (±6.7) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register9 listings, 10 historic buildings, 21.2 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 76%

Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so American Falls’ 21.2 sits above most of its state (74% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about American Falls’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start American Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how American Falls’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

9 historic places in American Falls

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
American Falls East Shore Power Plants
Power County CourthouseBethany Deaconess Hospital, built 1926Richard and Winnie Warwas HouseSt. John's Episcopal ChurchWalter Sparks HouseWilliam Davie HouseAmerican Falls East Shore Power PlantsOneida Milling and Elevator Company Grain Elevator, built 1912American Falls Reservoir Flooded Townsite
BuildingsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman3
Classical Revival1
Prairie School1
Late Gothic Revival1
Bungalow1
Power County CourthouseClassical Revival
Bethany Deaconess HospitalBungalow/Craftsman · Built 1926
Richard and Winnie Warwas HouseBungalow/Craftsman
St. John's Episcopal ChurchLate Gothic Revival
Walter Sparks HouseBungalow/Craftsman
William Davie HouseBungalow
All 9 listings
American Falls East Shore Power PlantsBuilding · listed 1976Oneida Milling and Elevator Company Grain ElevatorStructure · listed 1993American Falls Reservoir Flooded TownsiteSite · listed 2002

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How American Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of American Falls.

Read it all →

American Falls was a landmark waterfall on the Snake River, named after a party of American trappers whose boat went over the falls. The Wilson Price Hunt expedition in 1811 camped at the falls one night and the expedition of John C. Frémont was here in 1843. The Oregon Trail passed north of town, through the present-day reservoir. Power plants first sprang up at the falls in 1901. American Falls was the first town in the U.S. to be entirely relocated. It was moved in 1925 to facilitate construction of the nearby American Falls Dam. The old townsite sits at the bottom of the reservoir, northwest of the present city. A larger dam was completed in 1978, downstream from the deteriorating 1927 structure, which was later demolished.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

American Falls, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Idaho - Power County - American Falls - ED 39-1, …
  3. 1882Post officeThe American Falls post office opens
  4. 1899Born hereAnnalee Skarin is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveAmerican Falls bridge from OHQ
  7. 1912BuiltOneida Milling and Elevator Company Grain Elevator is built
  8. 1919In the archiveSkaggs 1919 ad
  9. 1926BuiltBethany Deaconess Hospital is built
  10. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1941Born hereSharon L. Block is born here
  12. 1955Born hereSteve Hayes is born here
  13. 1980In the archiveR & B's Burgers ice cream sign
By decade

American Falls, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s3 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Idaho - Power County - American Falls - ED 39-1, ED 39-518801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Idaho - Power…American Falls bridge from OHQ1900American Falls bridge from OHQSkaggs 1919 ad1919Skaggs 1919 ad
1920s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
R & B's Burgers ice cream sign1980R & B's Burgers ice cream sign
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Pass Geology 54122024Pass Geology 5412Silver Horseshoe Bar sign2023Silver Horseshoe Bar signBethany Deaconess Hospital2022Bethany Deaconess HospitalISS065-E-139323 - View of Earth2021ISS065-E-139323 - View of EarthSaint John's Episcopal Church NRHP 07000004 Power County, ID2017Saint John's Episcopal Church NRHP 07000004 Power Cou…Sawtooth National Forest Map with roads2012Sawtooth National Forest Map with roadsMapAmerican Falls High School2011American Falls High SchoolA Cove at Wapi Park2011A Cove at Wapi ParkSisymbrium altissimum2008Sisymbrium altissimumSisymbrium altissimum2008Sisymbrium altissimumSisymbrium altissimum2008Sisymbrium altissimumSisymbrium altissimum2008Sisymbrium altissimumPower County Courthouse2007Power County CourthouseSinclair Gas2004Sinclair GasSinclair Gas2004Sinclair GasSilver Horseshoe Bar sign, Fort Hall Avenue2004Silver Horseshoe Bar sign, Fort Hall AvenueIDMap-doton-AmericanFalls2004IDMap-doton-AmericanFalls
On the map

American Falls on the map, 1934 to 1971

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

American Falls on the 1934 USGS mapAmerican Falls on the 1971 USGS map1934American Falls sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

American Falls, building by building, 1907–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

American Falls fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Idaho - Power County - American Falls - ED 39-1, ED 39-5
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Idaho - Power County - American Falls - ED 39-1, ED 39-5, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on American Falls’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

American Falls, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001920194019601980200020204,568

Grew from 953 people in 1910 to 4,568 in 2020, 4 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on American Falls’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in American Falls

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
S
Steve HayesAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1955
Annalee SkarinAmerican writer · b. 1899
S
Sharon L. BlockAmerican politician · b. 1941

Questions about American Falls’ history

What year was American Falls founded?

The American Falls post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does American Falls rank for history?

American Falls is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #15 of 59 in Idaho. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in American Falls?

9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the American Falls East Shore Power Plants (listed 1976, the first), 1 site, and 1 structure. 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in American Falls?

16% of American Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.