History · Beaver

Beaver has 106 places on the National Register

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #4 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Dated to 1856 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history), with 28% of its homes built before 1940 and 0 historic districts holding 113 contributing buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1917 on, the census since 1860, and every listing on the Register.

1856founded

106on the National Register

28%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

3famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Beaver’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Beaver began

When was Beaver founded?

1856

Beaver dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 785 in 18602020 census: 3,592170 years

How historic is Beaver?

A⁻

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Beaver’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beaver is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #4 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beaver’s overall grade.

Founding era1856, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194027.8% of homes (±10.5) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National Register106 listings, 113 historic buildings, 307 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%

NewerOlder

Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 97%

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Beaver’s 307 sits above most of its state (96% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 113 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.5 points). Two sources give 1856.

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 →

What stands out about Beaver’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register106 places on the National Register.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 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

106 historic places in Beaver

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

places listed

106

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

113

each building in a district counts

first listed

1970

Beaver County Courthouse

BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular19

Greek Revival10

Late Victorian9

Second Empire5

Queen Anne4

H-Plan2

Fort CameronBuilding

Dr. George Fennemore HouseSecond Empire · Built 1898

Harriet S. Shepherd HouseVernacular · Built 1876

Charles Dennis White HouseVernacular · Built 1882

Beaver Opera HouseClassical Revival · Built 1909

Andrew James Morris HouseVernacular

Caroline Fotheringham HouseSecond Empire

Charles A. Dalten HouseGreek Revival · Built 1868

All 106 listings

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

Help out

Start Beaver’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Beaver’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewMOUNT BALDY NEAR: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Beaver, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Beaver came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beaver.

Read it all →

Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, as demonstrated by archeological evidence. A number of identified prehistoric sites have been found in Beaver County, dating to the Archaic and Sevier Fremont periods. A prehistoric obsidian quarry site has been identified in the nearby Mineral Mountains.

The historic Southern Paiute inhabited the region well before encountering the first European explorers. The 1776 Dominguez–Escalante Expedition is the first known European exploration in this area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Beaver, 1856 to 2020

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

19th century
1856
FoundingBeaver is established
1857Post officeThe Beaver post office opens
1872In the archiveMOUNT BALDY NEAR
1876BuiltHarriet S. Shepherd House is built
1882BuiltCharles Dennis White House is built
1897Born hereBetty Compson is born here
1898BuiltDr. George Fennemore House is built
20th century
1906Born herePhilo Farnsworth is born here
1909BuiltBeaver Opera House is built
1917Born hereLawrence B. Marcus is born here
1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 3,592

By decade

Beaver, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item

1872MOUNT BALDY NEAR

On the map

Beaver on the map, 1958 to 1986

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

1958Beaver sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Beaver, building by building, 1917

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 sheet.

Beaver fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 1

1917Sheet 1 of 4

Sheets

+3 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Retake this viewMOUNT BALDY NEAR, 1872

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

Retake this view · +15

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Beaver

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

See all →

Philo FarnsworthAmerican inventor · b. 1906

Betty CompsonAmerican actress · b. 1897

Lawrence B. MarcusAmerican screenwriter · b. 1917

Questions about Beaver’s history

What year was Beaver founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Beaver’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1860 counted 785 people here.

How does Beaver rank for history?

Beaver is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #4 of 119 in Utah. 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 Beaver?

106 listings: 105 buildings, among them the Beaver County Courthouse (listed 1970, the first), and 1 structure. 113 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Beaver?

28% of Beaver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (106), 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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