Deer Lodge dates to 1860, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #8 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
14 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, and six historic districts with 143 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Deer Lodge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deer Lodge is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #8 of 42 in Montana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deer Lodge’s overall grade.
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 Deer Lodge’s 500 sits above most of its state (96% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 151 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). Two sources give 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Deer Lodge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Deer Lodge, building by building, 1884–1912
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.
Extant mentions of the Deer Lodge Valley prior to 1860 are found as occasional remarks in records written for other purposes. Consistent record-keeping begins with the writings of Granville Stuart and others in the early 1860s. 1860 marks the beginning of permanent occupation of both the valley and the future site of the city of Deer Lodge by European-Americans.
Before 1860, the Deer Lodge Valley was not the territory of any American Indian group. Gatherings were held there, including horse races. American Indian groups from the west, Flatheads, Pend d'Oreilles et al. passed through the valley as an alternative route to and from the buffalo hunting grounds to the east.
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.
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.
In 1860, according to Wikidata. Deer Lodge’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1870 counted 788 people here.
How does Deer Lodge rank for history?
Deer Lodge is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Deer Lodge?
14 listings: 7 buildings, 6 historic districts with 143 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 151 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Deer Lodge?
23% of Deer Lodge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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.
★ Landmark
1887
1933
1964
1971
1974
1974
1974
