Most of Pray was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1955 on.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.
History grade
What drives Pray’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pray is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pray’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pray’s 62.0 sits above most of its state (74% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). Two sources give 1907.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Pray’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Pray’s post office has been open since 1909. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Riverside
1882–1884
Riverside
1908–1909
Pray
1909–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chicory
Gone or out of use
Elbow SchoolschoolMill Creek Flat SchoolschoolRiversidelocaleRiverside Post Officepost officeRosedale Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Pray, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pray yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pray is an unincorporated community in Park County, Montana, United States, in the Paradise Valley. The town was founded in 1907 by Valentine Eggar, an entrepreneur. He named it after Congressman Charles Nelson Pray. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Pray as a census-designated place (CDP). The CDP does not correspond to the local understanding of the townsite. As of the 2020 census, Pray had a population of 790. Pray has a post office with ZIP code 59065, which opened on December 8, 1909. The community is located on Highway 540 (East River Road), on the Yellowstone River. It is 22 miles (35 km) from Livingston, and 30 miles (48 km) from Yellowstone Natio…
Pray was established in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 681 to 790 (+16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Pray, 1882 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1907, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pray’s post office opened in 1882.
How does Pray rank for history?
Pray is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Pray?
One place: the Chico Hot Springs (listed 1998).
How old are the homes in Pray?
8% of Pray’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1997.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
