Sidney’s post office opened in 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #27 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Most of Sidney was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the Peoples' Congregational Church. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Sidney post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sidney’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sidney is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #27 of 42 in Montana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sidney’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 Sidney’s 1.6 sits below most of its state (33% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1911.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Sidney’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1910Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Settlers began arriving in the area in the 1870s, and a post office was established in 1888. Six-year-old Sidney Walters and his parents were staying with Hiram Otis, the local justice of the peace, and Otis decided that Sidney was a good name for the town. The following year, Montana became a state and Sidney was incorporated in 1911.
Sidney was originally part of Dawson County, but became the county seat of Richland County at its inception in 1914.
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.
Big Sky Shopping CenterlocaleFirst Baptist ChurchchurchHoliness Methodist ChurchchurchJ K Ralston Museum and Art CenterbuildingMeadors HospitalhospitalMontana Central ElevatorlocaleOccident ElevatorlocaleReformed Presbyterian ChurchchurchRussell-Miller Milling Company ElevatorlocaleSaint Lawrences Episcopal ChurchchurchValley Mercantile Elevatorlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Sidney’s history
What year was Sidney founded?
The Sidney post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.
How does Sidney rank for history?
Sidney is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #27 of 42 in Montana. 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 Sidney?
One place: the Peoples' Congregational Church (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Sidney?
10% of Sidney’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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