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History · Deary

Deary’s post office opened in 1907, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Deary Garage. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1976 on.

1907first post office
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Deary’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Deary began

When was Deary founded?

1907

The Deary post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pine Creek (1873) and Anderson (1893), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 508119 years
Founding year: the first Deary post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Deary’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.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Deary.Old housesHalf of Deary’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deary’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deary’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 viewFuzzy's Fine Food: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Deary’s post office has been open since 1907. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pine Creek
1873–1877
Anderson
1893–1907
Deary
1907–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Deary
Pine Crest

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Deary came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deary.

Read it all →

The settlement began as a waystation on the road to the forests at Bovill, Idaho. Owned by two African-Americans, Joe and Lou Wells, the waystation location was first called "Spud Hill", and then "Anderson".

The settlement was renamed "Deary" when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was founded in 1907, and named for William Deary, a businessperson in the lumber industry. A post office has been in operation at Deary since 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deary, 1873 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Pine Creek post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Pine Creek post office closes
  4. 1893Post officeThe Anderson post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Post officeThe Anderson post office closes
  7. 1907Post officeThe Deary post office opens
  8. 1976In the archiveFuzzy's Fine Food
By decade

Deary, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Fuzzy's Fine Food1976Fuzzy's Fine Food
1980s–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
Main Street, 19082014Main Street, 1908PostcardLatah County State Bank of Deary, circa 19082014Latah County State Bank of Deary, circa 1908PostcardBeyer Motor Company, Premium Card, circa 19202010Beyer Motor Company, Premium Card, circa 1920Latah county (ID) roads2007Latah county (ID) roadsIDMap-doton-Deary2004IDMap-doton-Deary
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.

Fuzzy's Fine Food
Retake this viewFuzzy's Fine Food, 1976

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Deary

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
2024
Deary Garage
Deary Garage
Buildings
All 1 listings
Deary GarageBuilding · listed 2024

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Deary

Nobody well known was born in Deary itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jim MattisUnited States 26th Secretary of Defense · b. 1950
Bryan FullerAmerican screenwriter and television producer · b. 1969
Julie GibsonAmerican actress and singer · b. 1913
Josh RitterAmerican musician · b. 1976
A
Andrea LloydAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
Jeanette LoffAmerican actress · b. 1906

Questions about Deary’s history

What year was Deary founded?

The Deary post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Deary?

One place: the Deary Garage (listed 2024).

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), 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.