Lewiston dates to 1861, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #7 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
22 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 62 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lewiston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lewiston is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #7 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lewiston’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 Lewiston’s 24.8 sits above most of its state (76% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 86 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1861.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lewiston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Lewiston, building by building, 1888–1918
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.
In August 1860, Elias D. Pierce snuck onto the Nez Perce reservation disguised as an itinerant trader and found gold there. Thousands trespassed into the reservation in search of the gold, and the illegal white encampment of Lewiston was founded in 1861 on the sovereign territory of the Nez Perce. The settlement is believed to have been named after Meriwether Lewis, who camped at the site in October 1805. In local lore, it is claimed that the Nez Pierce word for the area was "Tsceminicum." The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was founded to ferry gold prospectors to the squatter camp and blithely ignored orders from the Nez Perce and U.S. military authorities to cease operations.
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.
In 1861, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lewiston’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1880 counted 739 people here.
How does Lewiston rank for history?
Lewiston is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #7 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 Lewiston?
22 listings: 19 buildings, among them the Lewiston Depot (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Lewiston Historic District, with 62 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 86 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lewiston?
16% of Lewiston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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.
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