The Wilder post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wilderia (1916), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,597110 years
How historic is Wilder?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wilder post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wilder’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilder is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wilder’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 Wilder’s 4.8 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±5.1 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 →
Wilder was established in 1919, and was named for Marshall P. Wilder, a magazine editor.
An immigration raid at a race track at La Catedral Arena, west of Wilder, occurred on October 19, 2025. Anna Griffin of The New York Times stated that this "shattered Wilder’s innocent belief that its out-of-the-way location and deep-red politics could isolate the town from the raids overtaking other parts of the country."
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.
The Wilder post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wilder rank for history?
Wilder is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. 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 Wilder?
One place: the Peckham Barn (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Wilder?
11% of Wilder’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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