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A−History
History · Glenns Ferry

Glenns Ferry’s post office opened in 1879, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1890.

1879first post office
6on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glenns Ferry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glenns Ferry began

When was Glenns Ferry founded?

1879

The Glenns Ferry post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 333 in 18902020 census: 1,282147 years

How historic is Glenns Ferry?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Glenns Ferry’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenns Ferry is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glenns Ferry’s overall grade.
Founding era1879, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194046.5% of homes (±10.8) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register6 listings, 7 historic buildings, 48.7 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder

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 Glenns Ferry’s 48.7 sits above most of its state (86% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.8 points). 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 Glenns Ferry’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.Old housesHalf of Glenns Ferry’s homes were built before 1949.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glenns Ferry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glenns Ferry’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 viewDutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Glenns Ferry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glenns Ferry.

Read it all →

Glenns Ferry was one of the most famous and treacherous river crossings on the Oregon Trail. Pioneers forded the Snake River at the Three Island Crossing until 1869, when Gustavus "Gus" Glenn constructed a ferry about two miles upstream, primarily to expedite freight but also for emigrants. His boat, which could hold two wagons, cut nearly twenty miles from the former route. In 1871 the city of Glenns Ferry was established. Construction of the Oregon Short Line Railroad through the town in 1883 gave the city its first major employer.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the National Register

6 historic places in Glenns Ferry

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Amustutz Apartments
Amustutz ApartmentsGorby Opera TheaterJ. S. McGinnis BuildingO'Neill Brothers BuildingOur Lady of Limerick Catholic Church, built 1915Glenns Ferry School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie Style1
Romanesque Revival1
Amustutz ApartmentsPrairie Style
Gorby Opera TheaterBuilding
J. S. McGinnis BuildingBuilding
O'Neill Brothers BuildingBuilding
Our Lady of Limerick Catholic ChurchBuilt 1915
Glenns Ferry SchoolRomanesque Revival

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

Timeline

Glenns Ferry, 1879 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Glenns Ferry post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913Born hereBoyd Rasmussen is born here
  5. 1915BuiltOur Lady of Limerick Catholic Church is built
  6. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980In the archiveDutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route 84
By decade

Glenns Ferry, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Dutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route 841980Dutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route 84
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
Today4 recent
Three Island Crossing Oregon National Historic Trail2015Three Island Crossing Oregon National Historic TrailAmstutz Apartments2012Amstutz ApartmentsGorby Opera Theatre 19142008Gorby Opera Theatre 1914IDMap-doton-GlennsFerry2004IDMap-doton-GlennsFerry
On the map

Glenns Ferry on the map, 1947 to 1992

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

Glenns Ferry on the 1947 USGS mapGlenns Ferry on the 1951 USGS mapGlenns Ferry on the 1992 USGS map1947Glenns Ferry 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 Glenns Ferry.

Every building

Glenns Ferry, building by building, 1911

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.

Glenns Ferry fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 21911Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Dutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route 84
Retake this viewDutch's Fix-it Showroom, Business Route 84, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Glenns Ferry, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,611

Between 333 and 1,611 people in every census since 1890.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Glenns Ferry’s history

What year was Glenns Ferry founded?

The Glenns Ferry post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glenns Ferry rank for history?

Glenns Ferry is more historic than 83% 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 Glenns Ferry?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Amustutz Apartments (listed 1982, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Glenns Ferry?

47% of Glenns Ferry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1949.

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 (5), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.