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History · Circle

Circle’s post office opened in 1902, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Gladstone Hotel. Below: maps from 1983 on and the census since 1930.

1902first post office
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Circle began

When was Circle founded?

1902

The Circle post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 519 in 19302020 census: 591124 years
Founding year: the first Circle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Circle’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 Circle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,117 in 1960; 591 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Circle’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Circle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Circle’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
People over time

Circle, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019401960198020002020Peak: 1,117

Peaked at 1,117 in 1960; 591 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Circle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Circle.

Read it all →

After arriving in 1905, the town's founder Peter Rorvik opened the post office and a general store. In 1909 homesteaders began moving to the area. Then in 1914 the Great Northern Railway built a new station.

In 1951 oil was discovered southeast of Circle. This led to a temporary population spike. The 1960 census of 1,117 was the highest ever recorded for the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Circle, 1902 to 1983

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Circle post office opens
  3. 1956Born hereRon Ehli is born here
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,117
  5. 1983On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Circle, decade by decade

Today5 recent
WaterTowerCircleMT2026WaterTowerCircleMTCircle MT USA June 16 2025 - United States Post Office in downtown2025Circle MT USA June 16 2025 - United States Post Offic…Rusty Tractors2021Rusty TractorsGladstone Hotel (2013)2013Gladstone Hotel (2013)MTMap-doton-Circle2005MTMap-doton-Circle
On the map

Circle on the map in 1983

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Circle.

Circle on the 1983 USGS map1983Circle sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Circle.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Circle

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Gladstone Hotel
Gladstone Hotel
Buildings
Gladstone HotelBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Circle’s post office has been open since 1902.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Circle Trailer CourtStephensons Trailer Court
Gone or out of use
Farmers Union ElevatorlocalePeavey Elevatorlocale

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

Questions about Circle’s history

What year was Circle founded?

The Circle post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Circle?

One place: the Gladstone Hotel (listed 1980).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.