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History · Culbertson

Culbertson dates to 1887, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1910.

1887founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Culbertson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Culbertson began

When was Culbertson founded?

1887

Culbertson dates its founding to 1887 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 528 in 19102020 census: 753139 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓

What stands out about Culbertson’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.Old housesHalf of Culbertson’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Culbertson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Culbertson’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 viewPost office: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Culbertson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Culbertson.

Read it all →

Culbertson was created in June 1887 following the arrival of the Great Northern Railway, then known as the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway. The town was named after Major Alexander Culbertson, former head of the American Fur Company's Fort Union, 23 miles (37 km) to the east.

The settlement of Culbertson followed hard on the heels of the 1886-87 watershed years for the early cattle industry. As a result, the first settlers in the area raised horses for the US Cavalry’s various Montana and Dakota posts. As cattle prices slowly rebounded, the range was once again stocked with cattle, though the second wave of cattlemen utilized hardy English breeds instead of the Texas longhorns of the earlier outfits.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Culbertson, 1887 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingCulbertson is established
  3. 1892Post officeThe Culbertson post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1916In the archivePost office
  6. 1955Born hereTerry Falcon is born here
  7. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Culbertson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Post office1916Post officeDonaldson Bros. garage1916Donaldson Bros. garageA shipment of Buicks1916A shipment of Buicks
1920s–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
Today2 recent
Grain Elevator, Culbertson, MT. 19982017Grain Elevator, Culbertson, MT. 1998Culbertson, MT. 19982013Culbertson, MT. 1998
On the map

Culbertson on the map, 1969 to 1989

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

Culbertson on the 1969 USGS mapCulbertson on the 1989 USGS map1969Culbertson 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 Culbertson.

Every building

Culbertson, building by building, 1910–1930

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.

Culbertson fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 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.

Post office
Retake this viewPost office, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Culbertson, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 919

Between 528 and 919 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Culbertson

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

See all →
R
Rhonda KnudsenAmerican politician
T
Terry FalconAmerican football player · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Culbertson’s post office has been open since 1892.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Finnicum Mobile Home ParkWalker Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Helton Nursing HomehospitalMrs Spiegelbergs HospitalhospitalNewtons Maternity HospitalhospitalPresbyterian ChurchchurchSaint Pauls Lutheran ChurchchurchSaxton Independent ElevatorlocaleUnited Methodist Churchchurch

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

Questions about Culbertson’s history

What year was Culbertson founded?

In 1887, according to Wikidata. Culbertson’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1910 counted 528 people here.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), 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), 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.