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C+History
History · Jerome

Jerome’s post office opened in 1907, and 21 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #32 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

Most of Jerome was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1907first post office
21on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jerome’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jerome began

When was Jerome founded?

1907

The Jerome post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 970 in 19102020 census: 12,349119 years

How historic is Jerome?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Jerome’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jerome is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Jerome’s overall grade.
Founding era1907, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19408.7% of homes (±2.6) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register21 listings, 25 historic buildings, 19.3 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 47%

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 Jerome’s 19.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±2.6 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 Jerome’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Landmarks on the Register21 places on the National Register.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1909 to 1921, drew every building in Jerome.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

21 historic places in Jerome

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

places listed
21
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Jerome National Bank
Jerome National BankArchie Webster House, built 1924Dick Callen HouseEdgar Johnson HouseFrank J. Brick HouseGleason, F. C. HouseJ. O. Lee HouseJerome City Pump HouseJerome Cooperative CreameryJerome First Baptist ChurchJohn F. Schmerschall HouseJoseph Mandl HouseLee, J.O., Honey HouseThomas Vipham HouseJerome County CourthouseAllton Building, built 1909Edward M. Gregg FarmNorth Side Canal Company Slaughter HouseVan Hook, Jay, Potato Cellar
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular7
Bungalow4
Neo-Classical Revival1
Romanesque1
Colonial1
Bungaloid1
Jerome National BankNeo-Classical Revival
Archie Webster HouseBungalow · Built 1924
Dick Callen HouseVernacular
Edgar Johnson HouseVernacular
Frank J. Brick HouseBuilding
Gleason, F. C. HouseBuilding
Greer and Jennie Quay HouseBungalow
J. O. Lee HouseBungalow
All 21 listings
Jerome City Pump HouseBuilding · listed 1983Jerome Cooperative CreameryBuilding · listed 1983Jerome First Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1983John F. Schmerschall HouseBuilding · listed 1983Joseph Mandl HouseBuilding · listed 1983Lee, J.O., Honey HouseBuilding · listed 1983Thomas Vipham HouseBuilding · listed 1983Canyonside SchoolBuilding · listed 1983Jerome County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1987Allton BuildingBuilding · listed 1983Edward M. Gregg FarmBuilding · listed 1983North Side Canal Company Slaughter HouseBuilding · listed 1983Van Hook, Jay, Potato CellarBuilding · listed 1983

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

Help out

Start Jerome’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jerome’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNorth Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 19…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Jerome, building by building, 1909–1921

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.

Jerome fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story so far

Jerome, in brief

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

Jerome is a city in and the county seat of Jerome County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, Jerome had a population of 12,349. The city is the county seat of Jerome County, and is part of the Twin Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the second largest city in Idaho's Magic Valley region, second only to Twin Falls which is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast. Jerome's economy is largely agrarian, with dairy farming being one of the main revenue sources for the local economy.

Its first post office opened in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,890 to 12,349 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Jerome, 1907 to 1982

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907Post officeThe Jerome post office opens
  3. 1909BuiltAllton Building is built
  4. 1915In the archiveNorth Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 1915
  5. 1920Born hereWilliam Royer is born here
  6. 1924BuiltArchie Webster House is built
  7. 1925In the archiveBusiness district of Jerome, Idaho, between 1920 and 1930
  8. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1959Born hereKen Dayley is born here
  10. 1982Born hereJohn van der Giessen is born here
By decade

Jerome, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s2 items
North Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 1915c. 1915North Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 1915Business district of Jerome, Idaho, between 1920 and 1930c. 1925Business district of Jerome, Idaho, between 1920 and …
1930s–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
Today7 recent
J. O. Lee House NRHP 83002335 Jerome County, ID2021J. O. Lee House NRHP 83002335 Jerome County, IDJ. O. Lee Honey House NRHP 83002334 Jerome County, ID2021J. O. Lee Honey House NRHP 83002334 Jerome County, IDArchie Webster House NRHP 83002316 Jerome County, ID2021Archie Webster House NRHP 83002316 Jerome County, IDJerome City Pump House2012Jerome City Pump HouseJerome county courthouse 20092009Jerome county courthouse 2009Jerome Nat. Bank2008Jerome Nat. BankIDMap-doton-Jerome2004IDMap-doton-Jerome
On the map

Jerome on the map, 1950 to 1992

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

Jerome on the 1950 USGS mapJerome on the 1979 USGS mapJerome on the 1992 USGS map1950Jerome 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 Jerome.

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.

North Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 1915
Retake this viewNorth Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho, circa 1915, c. 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Jerome, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019201940196019802000202012,349

Grew from 970 people in 1910 to 12,349 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Jerome

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

See all →
William RoyerAmerican politician · b. 1920
John van der GiessenAmerican rugby union player · b. 1982
Ken DayleyAmerican baseball player · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Jerome’s post office has been open since 1907.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hydra
1cemetery inside Jerome
Jerome

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

Questions about Jerome’s history

What year was Jerome founded?

The Jerome post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Jerome rank for history?

Jerome is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Jerome?

21 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Jerome National Bank (listed 1978, the first). 25 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Jerome?

9% of Jerome’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (21), 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.