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History · Culdesac

Culdesac’s post office opened in 1902, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Forest Service Northern Region from Missoula, MT, USA · Public domain
Quick answers

How Culdesac began

When was Culdesac founded?

1902

The Culdesac post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 436 in 19102020 census: 413124 years
Founding year: the first Culdesac post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Culdesac’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 Culdesac are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1910 and 1950, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Culdesac’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Culdesac, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020436 in 1910Low: 175

Lost half of its people between 1910 and 1950, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Culdesac came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Culdesac.

Read it all →

Culdesac was named from its location at the end of a railroad line, i.e., a cul de sac.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Culdesac, 1902 to 1958

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Culdesac post office opens
  3. 1904Born hereArchie Phinney is born here
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 436
  5. 1942Born hereLois McMahan is born here
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Culdesac, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Culdesac High School, 1911 - Culdesac, Idaho - Flickr - Shook Photos2025Culdesac High School, 1911 - Culdesac, Idaho - Flickr…IDMap-doton-Culdesac2004IDMap-doton-CuldesacCuldesac, an overview looking northeast - Camas Prairie Railroad, Second Subdivision, From Spalding in Nez Perce County…2002Culdesac, an overview looking northeast - Camas Prair…Culdesac Yard, view looking east - Camas Prairie Railroad, Second Subdivision, From Spalding in Nez Perce County, throu…2002Culdesac Yard, view looking east - Camas Prairie Rail…
On the map

Culdesac on the map, 1958 to 1981

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

Culdesac on the 1958 USGS mapCuldesac on the 1981 USGS map1958Culdesac 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 Culdesac.

Every building

Culdesac, building by building, 1910–1929

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.

Culdesac fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 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.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Culdesac

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

See all →
A
Archie PhinneyAmerican anthropologist · b. 1904
L
Lois McMahanAmerican educator and politician from Washington · b. 1942

Questions about Culdesac’s history

What year was Culdesac founded?

The Culdesac post office opened in 1902, 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 →
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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.