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–Not graded
History · Klein

Klein’s post office opened in 1909, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 2000.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Klein began

When was Klein founded?

1909

The Klein post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 188 in 20002020 census: 163117 years
Founding year: the first Klein post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Klein’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Klein’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

Klein, in brief

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

Klein is a census-designated place (CDP) in Musselshell County, Montana, United States. It contains the unincorporated communities of Klein, Gibbtown, and Farralltown. The population was 163 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1909. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 168 to 163 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Klein, 1909 to 1979

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909Post officeThe Klein post office opens
  3. 1957Post officeThe Klein post office closes
  4. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Klein, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MTMap-doton-Klein2005MTMap-doton-Klein
On the map

Klein on the map in 1979

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Klein.

Klein on the 1979 USGS map1979Roundup sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Klein, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 188

Between 163 and 188 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Klein

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

See all →
Bill HolmAmerican art historian · b. 1925
J
Joseph Otis FletcherMeteorologist · b. 1920
Paul E. FunkAmerican Army general · b. 1940
S
Shane CollinsAmerican football player · b. 1969
K
Ken SnellingPlayer of American football · b. 1918
Vic LindskogAmerican football player · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Klein had its own post office from 1909 to 1957.

Klein
1909–1957
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FarralltownGibbtownRepublic
Gone or out of use
KleinlocaleKlein Post Officepost officeKlein SchoolschoolRepublic Mine Number 2mine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Klein
Miracle Lodge Number 84United Mine Workers of America

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.

Camp ThreeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Klein’s history

What year was Klein founded?

The Klein post office opened in 1909, 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 (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.