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History · Ovando

Ovando’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Ovando was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1968 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Ovando began

When was Ovando founded?

1883

The Ovando post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 83143 years
Founding year: the first Ovando post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ovando’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 Ovando are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ovando’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

Ovando, in brief

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

Ovando is a census-designated place (CDP) in Powell County, Montana, United States. It is approximately fifty-four miles ENE of Missoula, Montana. As of the 2020 census, Ovando had a population of 83. Ovando Hoyt was postmaster from 1883 to 1898. The Bob Marshall and Scapegoat wilderness areas are nearby.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 81 to 83 (+2%).

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

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.

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On the map

Ovando on the map, 1968 to 1999

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

Ovando on the 1968 USGS mapOvando on the 1999 USGS map1968Ovando 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 Ovando.

Questions about Ovando’s history

What year was Ovando founded?

The Ovando post office opened in 1883, 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 →
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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.