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History · Geraldine

Geraldine’s post office opened in 1913, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Geraldine Milwaukee Depot and the First National Bank of Geraldine. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1920.

1913first post office

2on the National Register

30%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Geraldine began, and where its name came from

When was Geraldine founded?

1913

The Geraldine post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 354 in 19202020 census: 207113 years

How did Geraldine get its name?

Geraldine was named for Almira Geraldine Rockefeller (or perhaps her daughter, Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge), the wife of William Rockefeller, the director of the railroad at the time.

Founding year: the first Geraldine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Geraldine’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Geraldine are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Geraldine’s homes were built before 1961.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Geraldine’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story

How Geraldine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Geraldine.

Read it all →

Geraldine was originally created as a stop on the Milwaukee Railroad. It was named for Almira Geraldine Rockefeller (or perhaps her daughter, Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge), the wife of William Rockefeller, the director of the railroad at the time.

The Milwaukee Road built a branch line from Harlowton to Great Falls in 1916. The town's wood-constructed railroad depot, also built in 1916, has been restored in recent years, now contains displays on the history of the area, and is a Montana Historic Site which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Central Montana Rail runs a tourist train from Lewistown to Geraldine in the summer and passengers get to tour the restored depot.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Geraldine, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2013GERALDINE MILWAUKEE DEPOT; CHOUTEAU COUNTY, MONTANA

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF GERALDINE; CHOUTEAU COUNTY, MONTANA

2013FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF GERALDINE; CHOUTEAU COUNTY, MO…

2005MTMap-doton-Geraldine

On the map

Geraldine on the map, 1978 to 1984

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

1978Geraldine 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 Geraldine.

Every building

Geraldine, building by building, 1916

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 sheet.

Geraldine fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 1

1916Sheet 1 of 1

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Geraldine

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1997

Geraldine Milwaukee Depot

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and early 20th Century American Movements1

Craftsman1

Late 19th and early 20th Century Revivals1

Classical Revival1

Neo-Classical Revival1

Geraldine Milwaukee DepotLate 19th and early 20th Century American Movements

First National Bank of GeraldineLate 19th and early 20th Century Revivals

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

People over time

Geraldine, census by census

Between 207 and 374 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Geraldine’s history

What year was Geraldine founded?

The Geraldine post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Geraldine?

Two places: the Geraldine Milwaukee Depot (listed 1997) and the First National Bank of Geraldine (2008).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.

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