Caldwell’s post office opened in 1883, and 16 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #21 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Caldwell was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 16 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 20 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Caldwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Caldwell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caldwell is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #21 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caldwell’s overall grade.
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 Caldwell’s 31.4 sits above most of its state (80% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 209 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Caldwell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Caldwell, building by building, 1888–1921
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.
1888Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The present-day location of Caldwell is along a natural passageway to the Inland and Pacific Northwest. Native American tribes from the west coast, north Idaho and as far away as Colorado came to the banks of the Boise River for annual trading fairs, or rendezvous. European and some Hawaiian explorers and traders soon followed the paths left by Native Americans and hopeful emigrants later forged the Oregon Trail and followed those paths to seek a better life in the Oregon Territory. Pioneers of the Trail traveled along the Boise River to Canyon Hill and forded the river close to the Silver Bridge on Plymouth Street.
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.
The Caldwell post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Caldwell rank for history?
Caldwell is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #21 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 Caldwell?
16 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Blatchley Hall (listed 1978, the first), 2 historic districts, the North Caldwell Historic District and the Caldwell Historic District, with 20 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 209 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Caldwell?
6% of Caldwell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (16), 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.
1889
