Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hinsdale

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Hinsdale, Montana. Montana Street looking northPhoto: Shadybradyj · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Hinsdale

Hinsdale’s post office opened in 1891, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Shadybradyj · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Hinsdale began

When was Hinsdale founded?

1891

The Hinsdale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 193135 years
Founding year: the first Hinsdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hinsdale’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 Hinsdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1914 to 1930, drew every building in Hinsdale.Old housesHalf of Hinsdale’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hinsdale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Hinsdale, building by building, 1914–1930

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.

Hinsdale fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 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.

The story

How Hinsdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hinsdale.

Read it all →

Native American tribes lived in the local area for thousands of years before European colonization. This colonization brought horses which greatly improved life on the prairie. The steady eastward march of settlers pushed new tribes into the area.

The Corps of Discovery reached the head of the Milk River in May 1805. There, the river received its name, for "the water of this river possesses a peculiar whiteness, being about the colour of a cup of tea with the admixture of a tablespoonfull of milk."

After the Corps of Discovery, the next major event in the area was the arrival of Texas cattle coming to fatten up on the local grass after their long cattle drives. The cattle drives lasted from 1866 until the late 1880s.

Chapters1800s1900s2000s

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Hinsdale, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Post Office Sign for2014Post Office Sign forHinsdale, Montana. Montana Street looking north2014Hinsdale, Montana. Montana Street looking northHinsdale Public Schools2014Hinsdale Public SchoolsEntering Hinsdale Sign2014Entering Hinsdale SignHinsdale Montana buildings2013Hinsdale Montana buildingsHinsdale Demographics, 2010 U.S. Census2012Hinsdale Demographics, 2010 U.S. Census
On the map

Hinsdale on the map, 1906 to 1984

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

Hinsdale on the 1906 USGS mapHinsdale on the 1984 USGS map1906Hinsdale sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hinsdale.

Famous people

Famous people close to Hinsdale

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

See all →
Steve ReevesAmerican bodybuilder and actor · b. 1926
Michael McFaulAmerican political scientist, author, and diplo… · b. 1963
A
Anthony WashingtonAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1966
T
Tony RainesAmerican racing driver · b. 1964
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Hinsdale’s post office has been open since 1891.

Gone or out of use
Happy Flat SchoolschoolSaint Anthony and Dakota Elevatorlocale

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

Questions about Hinsdale’s history

What year was Hinsdale founded?

The Hinsdale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.