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History · Eden

Eden’s post office opened in 1912, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1920.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eden’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eden began

When was Eden founded?

1912

The Eden post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 359 in 19202020 census: 393114 years
Founding year: the first Eden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Eden’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Eden’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eden’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 viewSign in store. Eden, Idaho: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Eden, in brief

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

Eden is a city in Jerome County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, Eden had a population of 393. It is part of the Twin Falls, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 405 to 393 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Eden, 1912 to 1964

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Eden post office opens
  3. 1941In the archiveSign in store. Eden, Idaho
  4. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Eden, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s4 items
Sign in store. Eden, Idaho1941Sign in store. Eden, IdahoSign in store. Eden, Idaho1941Sign in store. Eden, IdahoUntitled photo, possibly related to: Sign in store. Eden, Idaho1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sign in store. E…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sign in store. Eden, Idaho1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sign in store. E…
1950s–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
Today1 recent
IDMap-doton-Eden2004IDMap-doton-Eden
On the map

Eden on the map, 1964 to 1978

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

Eden on the 1964 USGS mapEden on the 1978 USGS map1964Eden 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 Eden.

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.

Sign in store. Eden, Idaho
Retake this viewSign in store. Eden, Idaho, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Eden, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 456

Between 314 and 456 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Eden

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

See all →
Mark FeltWhistleblower who exposed the Watergate scandal · b. 1913
Gary PeacockAmerican jazz double-bassist · b. 1935
Mike SimpsonAmerican politician · b. 1950
Marjorie ReynoldsAmerican actress · b. 1917
Sherry JacksonAmerican actress · b. 1942
Grant SawyerDemocratic Governor of Nevada, 1959 to 1967 · b. 1918

Questions about Eden’s history

What year was Eden founded?

The Eden post office opened in 1912, 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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), 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.