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History · Cardwell

Cardwell’s post office opened in 1909

Most of Cardwell was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 2000.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cardwell began

When was Cardwell founded?

1909

The Cardwell post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Jefferson Island (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 40 in 20002020 census: 62117 years
Founding year: the first Cardwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cardwell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cardwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cardwell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cardwell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Cardwell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cardwell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cardwell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Montana, United States. The population was 62 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named for area rancher and state senator Edward Cardwell.

Its first post office opened in 1909. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 50 to 62 (+24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Cardwell, 1872 to 1950

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Jefferson Island post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909Post officeThe Jefferson Island post office closes
  5. 1909Post officeThe Cardwell post office opens
  6. 1911Born hereChet Huntley is born here
  7. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cardwell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MTMap-doton-Cardwell2005MTMap-doton-Cardwell
On the map

Cardwell on the map, 1950 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cardwell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cardwell on the 1950 USGS mapCardwell on the 1987 USGS mapCardwell on the 1996 USGS map1950Jefferson Island 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 Cardwell.

People over time

Cardwell, census by census

020002020Peak: 62

Between 40 and 62 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cardwell’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Cardwell’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Jefferson Island, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jefferson Island
1872–1909
Cardwell
1909–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Cardwelllocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Cardwell’s history

What year was Cardwell founded?

The Cardwell post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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) 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.