Anaconda-Deer Lodge County dates to 1865, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #3 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
32 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 1,470 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #3 of 42 in Montana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s 1,566 sits above most of its state (99% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 1,503 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% 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 (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1865.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Deer Lodge was one of the original 9 Montana counties, as constituted with the establishment of the Montana Territory in 1864. The original county included what are now Silver Bow County (separated in 1881), Deer Lodge County, Granite County (separated in 1893) and Powell County (separated in 1901). In 1976, the voters chose a consolidated city-county form of government in the general election, and the charter became effective January 1, 1977.
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.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County on the map, 1908 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Philipsburg sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County.
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 viewField belonging to BUllis Parrott Estate, showing pint where water is taken from irrigating ditch, for distribution ove…, 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s page.
Questions about Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s history
What year was Anaconda-Deer Lodge County founded?
In 1865, according to Wikidata. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1870 counted 4,367 people here.
How does Anaconda-Deer Lodge County rank for history?
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #3 of 42 in Montana. 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 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County?
32 listings: 25 buildings, among them the Hearst Free Library (listed 1973, the first), 5 historic districts with 1,470 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 1,503 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County?
35% of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (32), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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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