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BHistory
History · Cut Bank

Cut Bank dates to 1891, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #18 of 42 in Montana. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Glacier County Courthouse and the River View Dairy Barn. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1900.

1891founded
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cut Bank’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cut Bank began

When was Cut Bank founded?

1891

Cut Bank dates its founding to 1891 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 43 in 19002020 census: 3,056135 years

How historic is Cut Bank?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1892.
History grade

What drives Cut Bank’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cut Bank is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #18 of 42 in Montana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cut Bank’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.4% of homes (±8.0) · typical MT town 13.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 6.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MT town 12.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
NewerOlder
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 59%

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 Cut Bank’s 6.6 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). Two sources give 1891.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Cut Bank’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,539 in 1960; 3,056 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19094 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1984. Watch Cut Bank change.Old housesHalf of Cut Bank’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cut Bank’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cut Bank, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,539

Peaked at 4,539 in 1960; 3,056 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Cut Bank on the map, 1909 to 1984

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

Cut Bank on the 1909 USGS mapCut Bank on the 1912 USGS mapCut Bank on the 1966 USGS mapCut Bank on the 1984 USGS map1909Cut Bank 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 Cut Bank.

The story so far

Cut Bank, in brief

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

Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, United States, located just east of the "cut bank" (gorge) along Cut Bank Creek. The population was 3,056 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1891 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway.

Cut Bank was established in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,869 to 3,056 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Cut Bank, 1891 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891
    FoundingCut Bank is established
  3. 1892Post officeThe Cut Bank post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1932In the archiveFig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine Creek
  7. 1939BuiltGlacier County Courthouse is built
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 4,539
  9. 1970In the archiveCutBankMTAerialView
  10. 1995In the archiveCut Bank Municipal Airport-MT-28Jul1995-USGS
By decade

Cut Bank, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Fig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine Creek1932Fig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine Creek
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s–1990s2 items
CutBankMTAerialView1970CutBankMTAerialViewCut Bank Municipal Airport-MT-28Jul1995-USGS1995Cut Bank Municipal Airport-MT-28Jul1995-USGS
Today14 recent
Cut Bank Creek Montana2013Cut Bank Creek MontanaCouncil for Native American Farming and Ranching (20120815-OSEC-LSC-0357)2012Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (201…Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (20120815-OSEC-LSC-0252)2012Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (201…Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (20120814-OSEC-LSC-0133)2012Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (201…Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (20120814-OSEC-LSC-0023)2012Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (201…Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (20120813-OSEC-LSC-0124)2012Council for Native American Farming and Ranching (201…BEFORE2010BEFOREAFTER2010AFTERA view from the trestle at Cut Bank Montana .... View Large On Black ^ In the autumn of 1890, Great Northern Railroad c…2010A view from the trestle at Cut Bank Montana .... View…The Point Drive Inn2009The Point Drive InnJ.C.Penney Co. sign2009J.C.Penney Co. sign4449 Oct 17 001xRP - Flickr - drewj194620094449 Oct 17 001xRP - Flickr - drewj1946Giant penguin2007Giant penguinHalvorson Block2006Halvorson Block
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.

Fig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine Creek
Retake this viewFig 16 Geologic section on Two Medicine Creek, 1932

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Cut Bank

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Glacier County Courthouse
Glacier County Courthouse, built 1939River View Dairy Barn
Buildings
Glacier County CourthouseBuilt 1939
All 2 listings
River View Dairy BarnBuilding · listed 2022

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Cut Bank

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

See all →
J
Jack HornerAmerican paleontologist · b. 1946
S
Steve ReevisBlackfoot Native American actor · b. 1962
J
James GradyAmerican writer · b. 1949
J
James WelchNative American writer · b. 1940
Minnie Spotted-WolfNative American marine · b. 1923
Darrell KippAmerican historian, Blackfoot language teacher · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Cut Bank’s post office has been open since 1892.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Skyland Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Cut Bank Ambulance Servicesbuilding

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Little BrowningIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cut Bank’s history

What year was Cut Bank founded?

In 1891, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cut Bank’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1900 counted 43 people here.

How does Cut Bank rank for history?

Cut Bank is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #18 of 42 in Montana. 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 Cut Bank?

Two places: the Glacier County Courthouse (listed 2013) and the River View Dairy Barn (2022).

How old are the homes in Cut Bank?

26% of Cut Bank’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1952.

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 Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.