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History · Pompeys Pillar

Pompeys Pillar dates to 1907

Most of Pompeys Pillar was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1967 on.

1907founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pompeys Pillar’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pompeys Pillar began

When was Pompeys Pillar founded?

1907

Pompeys Pillar dates its founding to 1907 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1909.

2020 census: 51119 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1909.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pompeys Pillar’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pompeys Pillar’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pompeys Pillar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pompeys Pillar’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBundy Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone Rive…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Pompeys Pillar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pompeys Pillar.

Read it all →

The town of Pompeys Pillar was founded in 1907 and was named after and situated less than a mile east of Pompeys Pillar National Monument, a 150 foot tall sedimentary rock formation best known for William Clark's inscription of his name and the date July 25, 1806 on its surface. The site also has significant evidence of human activity spanning an estimated 11,000 years.

The town of Pompeys Pillar was first planned out as a railroad station within the Huntley Project, an irrigation project managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

A Catholic church and a Union Congregational church once existed in Pompeys Pillar. The Northern Pacific Railroad connected the town to Billings, about 29 miles southwest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pompeys Pillar, 1907 to 1967

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907
    FoundingPompeys Pillar is established
  3. 1909Post officeThe Pompeys Pillar post office opens
  4. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pompeys Pillar, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Bundy Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Bundy RoadDate?Bundy Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Bundy Road
On the map

Pompeys Pillar on the map, 1967 to 1980

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

Pompeys Pillar on the 1967 USGS mapPompeys Pillar on the 1980 USGS map1967Pompeys Pillar 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 Pompeys Pillar.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bundy Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Bundy Road
Retake this viewBundy Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Bundy Road

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pompeys Pillar’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Pompeys Pillar

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

See all →
Bud LuckeyAmerican animator · b. 1934
Stanley AndersonAmerican actor · b. 1939
Jeff KoberAmerican actor · b. 1953
John DahlAmerican film and television director and writer · b. 1956
Cody MillerAmerican swimmer · b. 1992
K
Kendall CrossOlympic wrestler · b. 1968

Questions about Pompeys Pillar’s history

What year was Pompeys Pillar founded?

In 1907, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pompeys Pillar’s post office opened in 1909.

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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.