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History · Pinesdale

Pinesdale dates to 1980

Most of Pinesdale was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1990.

1980founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Pinesdale began

When was Pinesdale founded?

1980

Pinesdale dates its founding to 1980 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 670 in 19902020 census: 80546 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.

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

Start Pinesdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pinesdale’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

Pinesdale, in brief

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

Pinesdale is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 805 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated in 1980. It was settled in the early 1960s by fundamentalist Mormons.

Pinesdale was established in 1980. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 917 to 805 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Pinesdale, 1967 to 1981

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1980
    FoundingPinesdale is established
  4. 1981Born hereLance Allred is born here
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

Pinesdale on the map, 1967 to 1998

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

Pinesdale on the 1967 USGS mapPinesdale on the 1998 USGS map1967Hamilton North 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 Pinesdale.

People over time

Pinesdale, census by census

02004006008001,00020002020Peak: 917

Between 670 and 917 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Questions about Pinesdale’s history

What year was Pinesdale founded?

In 1980, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1990 counted 670 people here.

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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.