Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Montpelier’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montpelier is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #3 of 59 in Idaho. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montpelier’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 Montpelier’s 18.6 sits above most of its state (68% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1863.
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 Montpelier’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
As happened for many western towns, the name has been changed numerous times. First it was known as Clover Creek by Oregon Trail travelers, later it became Belmont and finally was given the name Montpelier by Brigham Young, one of the early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), after the capital of his birth state of Vermont. The city was first settled in 1864.
In 1863, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Montpelier’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1870 counted 120 people here.
How does Montpelier rank for history?
Montpelier is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Montpelier?
Three places: the John A. Bagley House (listed 1978), the Montpelier Odd Fellows Hall (1978) and the Montpelier Historic District (1978).
How old are the homes in Montpelier?
35% of Montpelier’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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