Hays’ post office opened in 1899, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Hays was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listing is the St. Paul’s Mission Church. Its Register listing is the St. Paul’s Mission Church.
How Hays began
When was Hays founded?
The Hays post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint Pauls (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
How historic is Hays?
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
What drives Hays’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hays is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Hays’ 9.9 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 →
1 historic place in Hays
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Hays’s post office has been open since 1899. Another post office, Saint Pauls, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hays’ history
What year was Hays founded?
The Hays post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hays rank for history?
Hays is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. 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 Hays?
One place: the St. Paul’s Mission Church (listed 2020).
How old are the homes in Hays?
0.7% of Hays’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1981.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.