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History · Cottonwood

Cottonwood’s post office opened in 1875, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the James V. and Sophia Baker House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1910.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cottonwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cottonwood began

When was Cottonwood founded?

1875

The Cottonwood post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 555 in 19102020 census: 822151 years
Founding year: the first Cottonwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cottonwood’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cottonwood’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cottonwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCottonwood, Id in the early years, look…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Cottonwood, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cottonwood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cottonwood is a city in Idaho County, Idaho. On the Camas Prairie in north central Idaho, the population was 822 at the 2020 census, down from 900 in 2010 and 944 in 2000. It is just west of U.S. Route 95, between Grangeville and Lewiston.

Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 900 to 822 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Cottonwood, 1875 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Cottonwood post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveCottonwood, Id in the early years, looking toward Grangeville
  5. 1937Born hereDon Bies is born here
  6. 1951Born hereSheryl Nuxoll is born here
  7. 1960Born hereBobby Watkins is born here
  8. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cottonwood, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Cottonwood, Id in the early years, looking toward Grangeville1910Cottonwood, Id in the early years, looking toward Gra…
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Outstanding Achievement- Roy Thornton2019Outstanding Achievement- Roy ThorntonEntering Nez Perce Indian Reservation Near2018Entering Nez Perce Indian Reservation NearLunch in2011Lunch inInnovative B & B2010Innovative B & BIDMap-doton-Cottonwood2004IDMap-doton-Cottonwood
On the map

Cottonwood on the map, 1967 to 1981

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

Cottonwood on the 1967 USGS mapCottonwood on the 1981 USGS map1967Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood.

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.

Cottonwood, Id in the early years, looking toward Grangeville
Retake this viewCottonwood, Id in the early years, looking toward Grangeville, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cottonwood

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
James V. and Sophia Baker House
James V. and Sophia Baker House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
James V. and Sophia Baker HouseBungalow/Craftsman

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

People over time

Cottonwood, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,081

Between 519 and 1,081 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cottonwood

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

See all →
B
Bobby WatkinsAmerican sportsperson and gridiron football pla… · b. 1960
D
Don BiesProfessional golfer · b. 1937
S
Sheryl NuxollAmerican politician and educator from Idaho · b. 1951

Questions about Cottonwood’s history

What year was Cottonwood founded?

The Cottonwood post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cottonwood?

One place: the James V. and Sophia Baker House (listed 2004).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.