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BHistory
History · McCall

McCall dates to 1889, and 9 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #17 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

Most of McCall was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1920.

1889founded
9on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How McCall began

When was McCall founded?

1889

McCall dates its founding to 1889 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 307 in 19202020 census: 3,686137 years

How historic is McCall?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives McCall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McCall is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #17 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McCall’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±3.5) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register9 listings, 28 historic buildings, 71.0 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 72%

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 McCall’s 71.0 sits above most of its state (90% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1889.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 McCall’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McCall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s McCall.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McCall’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

McCall’s post office has been open since 1909. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lardo
1889–1917
Eugene
1891–1893
McCall
1909–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Yorks Ranchlocale
1cemetery inside McCall
McCall

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

On the National Register

9 historic places in McCall

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
28
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Rice Meetinghouse
Rice Meetinghouse, built 1928Elo SchoolNickolai Wargelin HomesteadSouthern Idaho Timber Protective Association (SITPA) BuildingsCharles Koski HomesteadMatt N. Hill Homestead BarnMcCall District Administrative SitePayette Lakes Club, built 1914Johnson Flying Service Hangar
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Finnish3
Log2
Finnish Log Cabin Construction1
Bungaloid1
Rustic1
Rice MeetinghouseFinnish Log Cabin Construction · Built 1928
Elo SchoolBungaloid
Nickolai Wargelin HomesteadFinnish
Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association (SITPA) BuildingsRustic
All 9 listings
Charles Koski HomesteadBuilding · listed 1982Matt N. Hill Homestead BarnBuilding · listed 1982McCall District Administrative SiteBuilding · listed 1991Payette Lakes ClubBuilding · listed 2017Johnson Flying Service HangarBuilding · listed 2019

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

The story

How McCall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McCall.

Read it all →

Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the McCall area. Three tribes, the Tukudika (a sub-band of the Shoshone known as the "Sheepeaters"), the Shoshone, and the Nez Perce, inhabited the land primarily in the summer and migrated during the harsh winter months.

In the early 19th century, mountain men including the nomadic French Canadian fur trapper François Payette, Jim Bridger, Peter Skene Ogden, and Jedediah Smith passed through the area.

During the 1860s, miners temporarily named the settlement "Lake City", but only alluvial gold was discovered, so the temporary establishment was abandoned as most mining activity moved north to the town of Warren.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McCall, 1889 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889
    FoundingMcCall is established
  3. 1889Post officeThe Lardo post office opens
  4. 1891Post officeThe Eugene post office opens
  5. 1893Post officeThe Eugene post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909Post officeThe McCall post office opens
  8. 1914BuiltPayette Lakes Club is built
  9. 1917Post officeThe Lardo post office closes
  10. 1928BuiltRice Meetinghouse is built
  11. 1934Born hereVern Rutsala is born here
  12. 1949Born hereLyle Nelson is born here
  13. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1990Born hereCaitlin Patterson is born here
  15. 1992Born hereScott Patterson is born here
By decade

McCall, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Burgdorf Hot Springs Pool2014Burgdorf Hot Springs PoolArt roberts park2 20072007Art roberts park2 2007IDMap-doton-McCall2004IDMap-doton-McCall
On the map

McCall on the map, 1973 to 2004

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

McCall on the 1973 USGS mapMcCall on the 2004 USGS map1973McCall 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 McCall.

People over time

McCall, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001920194019601980200020203,686

Grew from 307 people in 1920 to 3,686 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in McCall

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

See all →
S
Scott PattersonAmerican cross-country skier · b. 1992
C
Caitlin PattersonAmerican cross-country skier · b. 1990
Lyle NelsonAmerican biathlete · b. 1949
V
Vern RutsalaAmerican poet · b. 1934
L
Lee KellyAmerican artist · b. 1932

Questions about McCall’s history

What year was McCall founded?

In 1889, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. McCall’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1920 counted 307 people here.

How does McCall rank for history?

McCall is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #17 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 McCall?

9 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Rice Meetinghouse (listed 1980, the first). 28 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in McCall?

4% of McCall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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) 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.