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History · Sheridan

Sheridan’s post office opened in 1866, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the William O'Brien House, the Christ Episcopal Church and Rectory and the H. D. Rossiter Building. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1880.

1866first post office
3on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sheridan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sheridan began

When was Sheridan founded?

1866

The Sheridan post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 156 in 18802020 census: 694160 years
Founding year: the first Sheridan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Sheridan’s past

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

Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1912 to 1927, drew every building in Sheridan.
★ What stands out · Every building

Sheridan, building by building, 1912–1927

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.

Sheridan fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Sheridan, in brief

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

Sheridan is a town in Madison County, Montana, United States named after the Civil War general Philip Sheridan. The population was 694 at the 2020 census. Sheridan is known as the "heart of the Ruby Valley." Seven mountain ranges surround the town: Tobacco Root Mountains, Highland Mountains, McCartney Mountain, The Pioneers, The Ruby Range, The Gravelly Range and the Snowcrest Range. The Ruby River winds through the valley just west of the town. Sheridan traces its beginnings to the construction of a sawmill on Mill Creek by James Gammell in 1863.

Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 642 to 694 (+8%).

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

Timeline

Sheridan, 1866 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Sheridan post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1942In the archiveSheridan, Montana. Sheep
  5. 1954Born hereTom L. Burnett is born here
  6. 1961Born hereTimothy M. Swager is born here
  7. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sheridan, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Sheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Sheridan, Montana. SheepSheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Sheridan, Montana. SheepSheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Sheridan, Montana. SheepSheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Sheridan, Montana. SheepUntitled photo, possibly related to: Sheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sheridan, Montan…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sheridan, Montana. Sheep1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Sheridan, Montan…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Sheridan on the map, 1963 to 1997

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

Sheridan on the 1963 USGS mapSheridan on the 1988 USGS mapSheridan on the 1997 USGS map1963Sheridan 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 Sheridan.

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.

Sheridan, Montana. Sheep
Retake this viewSheridan, Montana. Sheep, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Sheridan

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
William O'Brien House
William O'Brien HouseChrist Episcopal Church and RectoryH. D. Rossiter Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Western Commercial1
William O'Brien HouseItalianate
Christ Episcopal Church and RectoryBuilding
H. D. Rossiter BuildingWestern Commercial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Sheridan, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020694

Grew from 156 people in 1880 to 694 in 2020, 4 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Sheridan

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Timothy M. SwagerAmerican chemist · b. 1961
T
Tom L. BurnettAmerican politician · b. 1954
Places that used to be

Old corners

Sheridan’s post office has been open since 1866.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Sheridan Trailer Court

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

Help out

Finish Sheridan’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSheridan, Montana. Sheep: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Sheridan’s history

What year was Sheridan founded?

The Sheridan post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Sheridan?

Three places: the William O'Brien House (listed 1986), the Christ Episcopal Church and Rectory (1987) and the H. D. Rossiter Building (1994).

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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.