Most of Driggs was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Its Register listing is the Teton County Courthouse. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Driggs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Driggs is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Driggs’ 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 Driggs’ 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1888.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Driggs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Teton Valley was discovered by John Colter in 1808, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06). It later became known as Pierre's Hole, in honor of "le grand Pierre" Tivanitagon, and hosted the well-attended 1832 Rendezvous, which was followed by the Battle of Pierre's Hole.
Driggs was founded in 1888 by Benjamin Woodbury Driggs, Jr. and Don Carlos Driggs, whose descendants later moved to Arizona (where most live still), and there founded Western Savings and Loan. John Driggs, a descendant of Don Carlos Driggs, later became the mayor of Phoenix, Arizona in the 1970s.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Driggs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Driggs 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 Driggs.
Every building
Driggs, building by building, 1921–1929
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.
In 1888, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Driggs’ post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1920 counted 683 people here.
How does Driggs rank for history?
Driggs is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. 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 Driggs?
One place: the Teton County Courthouse (listed 1987).
How old are the homes in Driggs?
8% of Driggs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2000.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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2022
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