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History · Lima

Lima’s post office opened in 1889, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1920.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mark Hufstetler · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Lima began

When was Lima founded?

1889

The Lima post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Allerdice (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 476 in 19202020 census: 212137 years
Founding year: the first Lima post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lima’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 Lima are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 554 in 1940; 212 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Lima’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lima’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lima’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
People over time

Lima, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 554

Peaked at 554 in 1940; 212 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Lima, in brief

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

Lima (, LY-mə) is a town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 212.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 221 to 212 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Lima, 1881 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Allerdice post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Allerdice post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Lima post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Born hereBen Cheney is born here
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 554
  8. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lima, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Along npnht near lima Mt Lima Peaks2012Along npnht near lima Mt Lima PeaksSteak house2008Steak houseLima-Montana2007Lima-MontanaMTMap-doton-Lima2005MTMap-doton-Lima
On the map

Lima on the map, 1965 to 1979

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

Lima on the 1965 USGS mapLima on the 1979 USGS map1965Lima 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 Lima.

Every building

Lima, building by building, 1909–1921

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.

Lima fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Lima’s post office has been open since 1889. Another post office, Allerdice, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Allerdice
1881–1889
Lima
1889–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Lima
Mount Moriah

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

Questions about Lima’s history

What year was Lima founded?

The Lima post office opened in 1889, 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 (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.