Alder’s post office opened in 1902, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
How Alder began, and where its name came from
When was Alder founded?
The Alder post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.
How did Alder get its name?
The community takes its name from Alder Creek (named by Henry Edgar in 1863), the site of the second major gold discovery in Montana.
Questions about Alder’s history
What year was Alder founded?
The Alder post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.