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History · Homestead

19% of Homestead’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1914 on.

0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Homestead’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Homestead’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Homestead.Old housesHalf of Homestead’s homes were built before 1947.On the map since 19143 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1988. Watch Homestead change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pederson
1908–1910
Barford
1910–1911
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Homestead High SchoolschoolHomestead Post Officepost officeNazarene Churchchurch

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

The story so far

Homestead, in brief

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

Homestead is an unincorporated community in Sheridan County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Homestead had a population of 35. Homestead is located along a railroad, 5.8 miles (9.3 km) south-southwest of Medicine Lake. The community had a post office until November 19, 1994; it still has its own ZIP code, 59242. Originally named Barford, the town name was changed to Pederson in 1908 after the postmaster. After confusion with the mail, the citizens chose the name Fort Peck for the new community. The town of Poplar objected to this name, since it was the headquarters of the Fort Peck Indian Agency. The residents then chose the name Homestead.

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

On the map

Homestead on the map, 1914 to 1988

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

Homestead on the 1914 USGS mapHomestead on the 1948 USGS mapHomestead on the 1988 USGS map1914Homestead 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 Homestead.

Timeline

Homestead, 1908 to 1941

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe Pederson post office opens
  3. 1910Post officeThe Pederson post office closes
  4. 1910Post officeThe Barford post office opens
  5. 1911Post officeThe Barford post office closes
  6. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1941In the archiveGrain elevators. Homestead, Montana
By decade

Homestead, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Grain elevators. Homestead, Montana1941Grain elevators. Homestead, MontanaGrain elevators1941Grain elevatorsFreight train leaving Homestead, Montana1941Freight train leaving Homestead, MontanaWindow of post office and store. Homestead, Montana1941Window of post office and store. Homestead, MontanaWindow of post office and store. Homestead, Montana1941Window of post office and store. Homestead, MontanaBarbershop, store and post office1941Barbershop, store and post office
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
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.

Grain elevators. Homestead, Montana
Retake this viewGrain elevators. Homestead, Montana, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Homestead

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

See all →
D
Dona SpringGreen Party politician · b. 1953
R
Rhonda KnudsenAmerican politician
R
Robin SelvigAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1952
T
Terry FalconAmerican football player · b. 1955
V
Vern FonkAmerican businessman · b. 1931
V
Verner BertelsenAmerican politician · b. 1918
Help out

Finish Homestead’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGrain elevators. Homestead, Montana: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Homestead’s history

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 the Library of Congress (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.