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History · Hobson

Hobson’s post office opened in 1912, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1930.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hobson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hobson began

When was Hobson founded?

1912

The Hobson post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Philbrook (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 240 in 19302020 census: 179114 years
Founding year: the first Hobson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hobson’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hobson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHobson, Montana1: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Hobson, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hobson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hobson is a city in Judith Basin County, Montana, United States. The population was 179 at the 2020 census. As the freight-wagon crossing of the Judith River between Fort Benton, Montana and the Musselshell River country, the community was once known as the “Gateway to the Judith Basin.” In 1881, the post office opened under the name Philbrook. In 1908, however, the Great Northern Railway’s Billings and Northern branch line established another town four miles west. After some dispute the railroad decided on the town name Hobson, after the owner of the new townsite.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 215 to 179 (-17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hobson, 1881 to 1912

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Philbrook post office opens
  3. 1891Born hereBobby McNeal is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912Post officeThe Philbrook post office closes
  6. 1912Post officeThe Hobson post office opens
By decade

Hobson, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Hobson, Montana1Date?Hobson, Montana1
Today4 recent
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in2022Sacred Heart Catholic Church inMurray Block2015Murray BlockHobson, Montana22013Hobson, Montana2MTMap-doton-Hobson2005MTMap-doton-Hobson
Every building

Hobson, building by building, 1914–1929

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.

Hobson 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.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hobson, Montana1
Retake this viewHobson, Montana1

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hobson’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hobson, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 261

Between 179 and 261 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Hobson’s post office has been open since 1912. Another post office, Philbrook, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Philbrook
1881–1912
Hobson
1912–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Saint Johns Lutheran Churchchurch

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

Questions about Hobson’s history

What year was Hobson founded?

The Hobson post office opened in 1912, 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 (5), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.