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History · Craig

Craig’s post office opened in 1888

Most of Craig was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1961 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Craig’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Craig began

When was Craig founded?

1888

The Craig post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stickney (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 39138 years
Founding year: the first Craig post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Craig’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Craig’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewApproach span no. 2; south side; view t…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Craig, in brief

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

Craig is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Craig had a population of 39. Craig is located along Interstate 15 on the west side of the Missouri River, 43 miles (69 km) north of Helena, the state capital, and 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Great Falls. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Craig CDP has a total area of 0.30 square miles (0.77 km2), of which 0.25 acres (1,010 m2), or 0.13%, are water.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 43 to 39 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Craig, 1884 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Stickney post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Stickney post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Craig post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1953Post officeThe Craig post office closes
  7. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1968In the archiveApproach span no. 2; south side; view to north - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri…
By decade

Craig, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s3 items
Approach span no. 2; south side; view to north - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri River at Bridge Street, Craig…1968Approach span no. 2; south side; view to north - Miss…Detail of pin-connection; span no. 2 - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri River at Bridge Street, Craig, Lewis an…1968Detail of pin-connection; span no. 2 - Missouri River…West portal; view to east - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri River at Bridge Street, Craig, Lewis and Clark Cou…1968West portal; view to east - Missouri River Bridge, Sp…
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Craig Montana Missouri river Govenor Forrest H Anderson fishing access memorial 22025Craig Montana Missouri river Govenor Forrest H Anders…Craig Montana Cemetery2025Craig Montana CemeteryDowntown2013Downtown
On the map

Craig on the map, 1961 to 1979

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

Craig on the 1961 USGS mapCraig on the 1979 USGS map1961Craig 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 Craig.

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.

Approach span no. 2; south side; view to north - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri River at Bridge Street, Craig…
Retake this viewApproach span no. 2; south side; view to north - Missouri River Bridge, Spanning Missouri River at Bridge Street, Craig…, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Craig

Nobody well known was born in Craig itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gary CooperAmerican actor · b. 1901
Myrna LoyAmerican actress · b. 1905
Dirk BenedictAmerican actor (b. 1945) · b. 1945
Max BaucusAmerican politician · b. 1941
Sean O'MalleyAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1994
P
Patricia BelcherAmerican actress · b. 1954
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Craig had its own post office from 1888 to 1953. Another post office, Stickney, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stickney
1884–1888
Craig
1888–1953
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Craig Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Craig’s history

What year was Craig founded?

The Craig post office opened in 1888, 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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.