Founding year: the first Grangeville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.
History grade
What drives Grangeville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grangeville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #23 of 59 in Idaho. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grangeville’s 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 Grangeville’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (41% 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Grangeville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grangeville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Grangeville is the largest city in and the county seat of Idaho County, Idaho, United States, in the north central part of the state. Its population was 3,308 at the 2020 census, up from 3,141 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,141 to 3,308 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Grangeville, 1876 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 Grangeville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Grangeville East 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 Grangeville.
Every building
Grangeville, building by building, 1901–1910
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.
The Grangeville post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.
How does Grangeville rank for history?
Grangeville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Grangeville?
One place: the Blue Fox Theatre (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Grangeville?
21% of Grangeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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