Meridian’s post office opened in 1894, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #41 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Meridian was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 16 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Meridian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Meridian’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meridian is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #41 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Meridian’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Meridian ranks #317 on History.
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 Meridian’s 1.8 sits near the middle of its state (37% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Meridian’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 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 Meridian’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The information in the following sections (Irrigation, Village, Rail Transportation, and Creamery) is found on the displays in the Meridian City Hall Plaza.
Early settlers arriving in the area came with no knowledge of gravity flow irrigation. Their previous homes were in areas where rain provided the needed moisture to raise crops. Irrigation soon became a necessity, since having a water source was a requirement for receiving the patent for the land from the U.S. Land Office. Irrigation districts, such as the Nampa-Meridian and Settlers irrigation districts, continue to serve the immediate Meridian area.
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 Meridian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Meridian 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 Meridian.
Every building
Meridian, building by building, 1907–1912
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.
1907Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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.
Retake this viewKarl's Tourist Court sign, 1982
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Meridian’s page.
The Meridian post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Meridian rank for history?
Meridian is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Meridian?
9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Halbert F. and Grace Neal House (listed 1982, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Mittleider Farmstead Historic District and the Meridian Speedway, with 16 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Meridian?
0.9% of Meridian’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2007.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), 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), 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.
2004
