Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of West Yellowstone was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1930.
West Yellowstone dates its founding to 1909 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Yellowstone is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 West Yellowstone’s 67.8 sits above most of its state (76% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of West Yellowstone.
Founded in June 1908 when the Oregon Short Line Railroad was completed, the town's name changed several times until West Yellowstone was settled upon in 1920. Train service to West Yellowstone ended in 1960. The town was incorporated in 1966.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveFrieda B. Nelson
In the archiveCanon Street (NBY 739)
In the archive1267, Union Pacific Depot (NBY 430674)
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey3 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Yellowstone. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Yellowstone.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Yellowstone’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 200 people in 1930 to 1,272 in 2020, 6 times over.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Yellowstone’s Wikipedia page.
West Yellowstone’s post office has been open since 1920. Another post office, Yellowstone, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1909, according to Wikidata. West Yellowstone’s post office opened in 1909, and the census of 1930 counted 200 people here.
West Yellowstone 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.
4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 historic district, the West Yellowstone Oregon Shortline Terminus Historic District, with 7 contributing buildings. 10 historic buildings in all.
7% of West Yellowstone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1986.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
1939
1941
2006
