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C−History
History · Eagle

Eagle’s post office opened in 1908, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #47 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

Most of Eagle was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1980.

1908first post office
8on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Eagle began

When was Eagle founded?

1908

The Eagle post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,620 in 19802020 census: 30,346118 years

How historic is Eagle?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Eagle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eagle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #47 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.5% of homes (±2.4) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register8 listings, 22 historic buildings, 6.7 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 21%

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 Eagle’s 6.7 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 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 Eagle’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 Eagle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eagle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eagle’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
On the National Register

8 historic places in Eagle

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
O. F. Short House
O. F. Short House, built 1906Eagle Adventist Schoolhouse, built 1912Aiken's Hotel, built 1910Orville and Floy Jackson HouseCharles and Martha Villeneuve HouseBushnell-Fisher HouseFirebird RacewaySonner-Osier Farmstead Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Box1
Tudoresque1
Queen Anne1
O. F. Short HouseClassical Box · Built 1906
Eagle Adventist SchoolhouseBuilt 1912
Aiken's HotelBuilt 1910
Orville and Floy Jackson HouseTudoresque
Charles and Martha Villeneuve HouseQueen Anne
Bushnell-Fisher HouseBuilding
Firebird RacewayDistrict
All 8 listings
Sonner-Osier Farmstead Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 2017

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

The story

How Eagle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle.

Read it all →

Eagle Island in Idaho was settled in 1863 by Truman Coe Catlin, who later shifted from crop farming to dairy farming, starting the island's dairy tradition. He also pioneered irrigation in the area by constructing a wide irrigation ditch. The most notable early community developer was Thomas Hugh Aiken, a Canadian surveyor, who helped establish the Eagle community in the 1870s. Despite the construction of Arrowrock Dam in 1915 and subsequent dams, flooding has been a recurrent issue for residents, leading to continued efforts to mitigate flood risks.

Chapters19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eagle, 1906 to 2001

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906BuiltO. F. Short House is built
  3. 1908Post officeThe Eagle post office opens
  4. 1910BuiltAiken's Hotel is built
  5. 1912BuiltEagle Adventist Schoolhouse is built
  6. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1979Born hereJeb Putzier is born here
  8. 1987Born hereKate Shoemaker is born here
  9. 1998Born hereBlake Bodily is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2001Born hereOlivia Griffitts is born here
By decade

Eagle, decade by decade

Today9 recent
City of Eagle (2)2019City of Eagle (2)City of Eagle (1)2019City of Eagle (1)Cafe Yumm in2019Cafe Yumm inBank of Eagle (2)2019Bank of Eagle (2)Bank of Eagle (1)2019Bank of Eagle (1)Bushnell-Fisher House NRHP 11000777 Ada County, ID2017Bushnell-Fisher House NRHP 11000777 Ada County, IDEagleIslandStatePark2016EagleIslandStateParkIdaho State Veterans Cemetery (June 2014)2014Idaho State Veterans Cemetery (June 2014)IDMap-doton-Eagle2004IDMap-doton-Eagle
On the map

Eagle on the map, 1953 to 1998

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

Eagle on the 1953 USGS mapEagle on the 1971 USGS mapEagle on the 1998 USGS map1953Eagle 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 Eagle.

Every building

Eagle, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Eagle fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Eagle, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00019802000202030,346

Grew from 2,620 people in 1980 to 30,346 in 2020, more than tenfold.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Eagle

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

See all →
B
Blake BodilyAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
J
Jeb PutzierAmerican football player · b. 1979
K
Kate ShoemakerAmerican para equestrian · b. 1987
O
Olivia GriffittsAmerican soccer player · b. 2001
T
Taylor KellyAmerican football player · b. 1991
J
Jacob SmithAmerican racing driver · b. 2004
Places that used to be

Old corners

Eagle’s post office has been open since 1908.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Avimor

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

AvimorIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBoise City137 historic placesBStar1 historic placeC−Meridian9 historic placesC

Questions about Eagle’s history

What year was Eagle founded?

The Eagle post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Eagle rank for history?

Eagle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #47 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 Eagle?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the O. F. Short House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Firebird Raceway, with 7 contributing buildings. 22 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Eagle?

3% of Eagle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2007.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.