Soda Springs’ post office opened in 1864, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #26 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Soda Springs was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Soda Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Soda Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Soda Springs is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Soda Springs’ 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 Soda Springs’ 15.8 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). 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 Soda Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city is named for the hundreds of natural springs of carbonated water that are located in and around the city. The springs were known to Native Americans and were a landmark along the Oregon Trail in the mid-19th century. The city is also the location of the Soda Springs Geyser, which was unleashed in 1937 when town fathers were seeking hot water for a hot pool bathing attraction. They drilled into a chamber of highly pressurized carbon dioxide gas and cold water, and the geyser erupted. After running for weeks and flooding the downtown area, it was capped and then manually released, at first upon request, as a tourist attraction. More recently, a timed release valve opens every hour on the hour. The geyser's height and volume have not decreased in the decades since. Viewing platforms are located at either end of the travertine mound where the geyser erupts. Interpretive signs are l…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Soda Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Soda Springs sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Soda Springs.
Every building
Soda Springs, building by building, 1907–1915
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.
The Soda Springs post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Soda Springs rank for history?
Soda Springs is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Soda Springs?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the William Hopkins House (listed 1979, the first).
How old are the homes in Soda Springs?
9% of Soda Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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.
1871
1872
1872
