Havre’s post office opened in 1890, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #10 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 413 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Havre post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Havre’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Havre is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #10 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 Havre’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 Havre’s 454 sits above most of its state (93% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 420 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1893 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Havre’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
Havre, building by building, 1892–1920
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Havre’s post office has been open since 1890.
Hamlets and corners on the map
A and B Trailer Court Number OneA and B Trailer Court Number TwoClear Creek Terrace Trailer CourtFrigon Trailer CourtHacienda Trailer CourtHillside Trailer CourtLakeside Plaza Mobile Home ParkPoplars Trailer Court
Havre was incorporated in north-central Montana on September 5, 1893. In August 1893, twenty-six people voted to incorporate Havre as a city on September 5 of that year. The townsite was platted south of the railroad tracks on parts of Descelles’ and Simon Pepin’s ranches. Like many railroad towns, Havre’s streets were set in a grid formation, with the east–west orientation of the railroad serving as the northern boundary of the town running parallel to the south by Main Street, which fronted the railroad tracks, followed by First through Third Streets. The avenues ran perpendicular to the tracks with Third Avenue running south from the Great Northern depot. The depot served as the gateway to the commercial district of Havre. First Street between Second Avenue and Fourth Avenue served as the main commercial street, and Third Avenue became the main avenue. The buildings in Havre during …
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.
The Havre post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1893.
How does Havre rank for history?
Havre is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #10 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 Havre?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Young-Almas House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Havre Residential Historic District, with 413 contributing buildings. 420 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Havre?
19% of Havre’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
![11 - Plan of Stables for 72 Animals at Fort Assinaboine [Assinniboine], Montana Territory](https://images.townratings.com/story/10306/297025cc3ef23d989c6e-s.jpg)
1879![12 - Plan of Bake-House, Fort Assinaboine [Assinniboine], Montana Territory](https://images.townratings.com/story/10306/1d63dd18766afc0716cd-s.jpg)
1879
1918
