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History · Jefferson City

Jefferson City’s post office opened in 1866, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Jefferson City began

When was Jefferson City founded?

1866

The Jefferson City post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Corbin (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 597160 years
Founding year: the first Jefferson City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Jefferson City’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 Jefferson City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jefferson City’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Jefferson City, in brief

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

Jefferson City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Jefferson City had a population of 597. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area. The community began as a stop along the Fort Benton and Virginia City stage line. It took its name when Jefferson County was named one of Montana Territory’s original counties on February 2, 1865. Summer activities include the Tizer Botanic Gardens & Arboretum with its 100 varieties of roses and 150 varieties of clematis.

Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 472 to 597 (+26%).

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

Timeline

Jefferson City, 1866 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Jefferson City post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Corbin post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1943Post officeThe Corbin post office closes
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Jefferson City on the map, 1950 to 2001

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

Jefferson City on the 1950 USGS mapJefferson City on the 1985 USGS mapJefferson City on the 2001 USGS map1950Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City.

Famous people

Famous people close to Jefferson City

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

See all →
Gary CooperAmerican actor · b. 1901
Myrna LoyAmerican actress · b. 1905
Phil JacksonAmerican basketball player, coach and executive · b. 1945
Patrick DuffyAmerican actor · b. 1949
Dirk BenedictAmerican actor (b. 1945) · b. 1945
Max BaucusAmerican politician · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Jefferson City’s post office has been open since 1866. Another post office, Corbin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jefferson City
1866–today
Corbin
1887–1943
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Corbin
Gone or out of use
BeavertownlocaleConcentratorlocaleCorbinlocaleCorbin Post Officepost officeEureka MinemineJeffersonlocaleLake MinemineSE NW Section 22 MinemineTamarack Junior MinemineThistlelocale

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ClancyIts storyC−

Questions about Jefferson City’s history

What year was Jefferson City founded?

The Jefferson City post office opened in 1866, 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 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.