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History · Bear River City

Bear River City dates to 1866, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1989 on, and the census since 1870.

1866founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bear River City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bear River City began

When was Bear River City founded?

1866

Bear River City dates its founding to 1866 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 317 in 18702020 census: 877160 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.

What stands out about Bear River City’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.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear River City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear River City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBear River Canal Dam, Utah: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bear River City, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020648 in 1910Low: 429

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then more than doubled.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Bear River City, in brief

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

Bear River City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 877 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 853. Bear River became a city under state law near the end of 2000. Although current state law requires a minimum population of 1000 for cities, Bear River City remains a city. A group first settled Bear River City from Brigham City in 1866. The city took its name from the nearby Bear River.

Bear River City was established in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 853 to 877 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Bear River City, 1866 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingBear River City is established
  3. 1868Post officeThe Bear River post office opens
  4. 1869Post officeThe Bear River post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Bear River City post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1917In the archiveBear River Canal Dam, Utah
  8. 1919Born hereArthur Wallace is born here
  9. 1989On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 877
By decade

Bear River City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Bear River Canal Dam, Utah1917Bear River Canal Dam, Utah
1920s–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
Today2 recent
Bear River City Edited2011Bear River City EditedBear River City2009Bear River City
On the map

Bear River City on the map in 1989

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bear River City.

Bear River City on the 1989 USGS map1989Tremonton sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bear River City.

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.

Bear River Canal Dam, Utah
Retake this viewBear River Canal Dam, Utah, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Bear River City’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Bear River, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bear River
1868–1869
Bear River City
1871–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Bear River City
Bear River City

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

HoneyvilleIts storyC

Questions about Bear River City’s history

What year was Bear River City founded?

In 1866, according to Wikidata. Bear River City’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1870 counted 317 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), 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) 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.