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C+History
History · Conrad

Conrad’s post office opened in 1903, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Conrad City Hall. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Conrad’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Conrad began

When was Conrad founded?

1903

The Conrad post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pondera (1892), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 888 in 19102020 census: 2,318123 years

How historic is Conrad?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Conrad post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Conrad’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Conrad is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Conrad’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194026.0% of homes (±7.8) · typical MT town 13.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MT town 12.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder

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 Conrad’s 3.8 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Montana 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 D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 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 →

What stands out about Conrad’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Conrad, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19203 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1984. Watch Conrad change.Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Conrad’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Conrad’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Pondera, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pondera
1892–1903
Conrad
1903–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Spartan Manor Trailer ParkSpeer Trailer ParkSunrise Trailer CourtTorens Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Saint Marys Hospitalhospital

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

On the map

Conrad on the map, 1920 to 1984

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

Conrad on the 1920 USGS mapConrad on the 1967 USGS mapConrad on the 1984 USGS map1920Conrad 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 Conrad.

Help out

Start Conrad’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewConrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Conrad, in brief

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

Conrad is a city in and the county seat of Pondera County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,318 at the 2020 census. Each June, the Whoop Up Days, a town wide celebration that includes a parade and rodeo, takes place in Conrad. The town was incorporated in 1908.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,570 to 2,318 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Conrad, 1892 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Pondera post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Pondera post office closes
  5. 1903Post officeThe Conrad post office opens
  6. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1937Born hereEverett M. Snortland is born here
  8. 1955Born hereKristen Juras is born here
  9. 1961Born hereWylie Gustafson is born here
By decade

Conrad, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Montana Secondary Highway 219, 1.6 miles southwest of Interstate Highway 15Date?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Montana Seconda…Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Office & Warehouse Building, 60 feet northwest of centerline at Montana Secondary…Date?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Office & Wareho…Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Outhouse, Rear (West) side of Office & Warehouse BuildingDate?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Outhouse, Rear …Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Laboratory, 25 feet northwest of Office & Warehouse BuildingDate?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Laboratory, 25 …Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Boiler House, 40 feet northeast of Office & Warehouse BuildingDate?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Boiler House, 4…Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Bulk Tanks & Pump Station, 90 feet northeast of Office & Warehouse BuildingDate?Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Bulk Tanks & Pu…
Today7 recent
Smoke in the hills in the distance has accented the intensity of the setting sun over a prairie near Conrad, Montana2022Smoke in the hills in the distance has accented the i…Smoke in the hills in the distance has accented the intensity of the setting sun over a prairie near Conrad, Montana2022Smoke in the hills in the distance has accented the i…These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the late day summer sun near the town of Conrad, Montana2022These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the lat…These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the late day summer sun near the town of Conrad, Montana2022These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the lat…These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the late day summer sun near the town of Conrad, Montana2022These hay rolls were bathed, if not baked, by the lat…Something is definitely missing from this vintage car in a hayfield near the town of Conrad, Montana2022Something is definitely missing from this vintage car…Hay rolls by the dozens, if not hundreds, dot this flat Montana prairie near Conrad2022Hay rolls by the dozens, if not hundreds, dot this fl…
Every building

Conrad, building by building, 1910–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Conrad fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 21910Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Conrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Montana Secondary Highway 219, 1.6 miles southwest of Interstate Highway 15
Retake this viewConrad Refining Company Oil Refinery, Montana Secondary Highway 219, 1.6 miles southwest of Interstate Highway 15

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Conrad’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Conrad

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
Conrad City Hall
Conrad City Hall
Buildings
All 1 listings
Conrad City HallBuilding · listed 1980

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

People over time

Conrad, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,074

Between 888 and 3,074 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Conrad

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kristen JurasAmerican politician · b. 1955
Wylie GustafsonAmerican singer · b. 1961
C
Carl GlimmAmerican politician from Montana
E
Everett M. SnortlandAmerican politician · b. 1937

Questions about Conrad’s history

What year was Conrad founded?

The Conrad post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Conrad rank for history?

Conrad is more historic than 42% 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 Conrad?

One place: the Conrad City Hall (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Conrad?

26% of Conrad’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1962.

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).

From the Library of Congress (13), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.