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C−History
History · Blanding

Blanding dates to 1905, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #80 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Blanding was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listings are the Edge of Cedars Indian Ruin and the Swallow's Nest. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1910.

1905founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blanding’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blanding began

When was Blanding founded?

1905

Blanding dates its founding to 1905 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 385 in 19102020 census: 3,394121 years

How historic is Blanding?

C−

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1904.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Blanding’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blanding is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #80 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blanding’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.1% of homes (±2.8) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 6.1 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 33%

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 Blanding’s 6.1 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1905.

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 Blanding’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blanding’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blanding’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 viewBlanding Little Westwater: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Blanding came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blanding.

Read it all →

First known as Grayson (after Nellie Grayson Lyman, wife of settler Joseph Lyman), the town changed its name in 1914 when a wealthy easterner, Thomas W. Bicknell, offered a thousand-volume library to any town that would adopt his name. Grayson competed with Thurber, Utah (renamed Bicknell) for the prize. Grayson was renamed Blanding after the maiden name of Bicknell's wife, and each town received 500 books.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blanding, 1904 to 1989

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Grayson post office opens
  3. 1905
    FoundingBlanding is established
  4. 1915Post officeThe Grayson post office closes
  5. 1915Post officeThe Blanding post office opens
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1986Born hereBuu Nygren is born here
  8. 1989In the archiveBlanding Little Westwater
By decade

Blanding, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Blanding Little Westwater1989Blanding Little Westwater
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
Today15 recent
Starvation Reservoir, City of Blanding, May 20192019Starvation Reservoir, City of Blanding, May 2019Pinenut Knoll, February 20192019Pinenut Knoll, February 2019Pinenut Knoll east face, February 20192019Pinenut Knoll east face, February 2019Kigalia Drive-In sign, February 20192019Kigalia Drive-In sign, February 2019Blanding Number Three Reservoir, February 20192019Blanding Number Three Reservoir, February 2019Blanding Number Three Reservoir sign, February 20192019Blanding Number Three Reservoir sign, February 2019Blanding Municipal Airport terminal, February 20192019Blanding Municipal Airport terminal, February 2019US Highway 191 - Utah2012US Highway 191 - UtahUS Highway 191 - Utah2012US Highway 191 - UtahUS Highway 191 - Utah2012US Highway 191 - UtahUS Highway 191 - Utah2012US Highway 191 - UtahNavajo Taco!2011Navajo Taco!Sinclair dinos2009Sinclair dinosUtah State Flag2007Utah State FlagBullpup Canyon in2007Bullpup Canyon in
On the map

Blanding on the map in 1957

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blanding.

Blanding on the 1957 USGS map1957Blanding 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 Blanding.

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.

Blanding Little Westwater
Retake this viewBlanding Little Westwater, 1989

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Blanding

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Edge of Cedars Indian Ruin
Edge of Cedars Indian RuinSwallow's Nest
BuildingsSites
Edge of Cedars Indian RuinSite
Swallow's NestBuilding

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

People over time

Blanding, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001920194019601980200020203,394

Grew from 385 people in 1910 to 3,394 in 2020, 8 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Blanding’s post office has been open since 1915. Another post office, Grayson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Grayson
1904–1915
Blanding
1915–today
19001960today
1cemetery inside Blanding
Blanding City

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

Questions about Blanding’s history

What year was Blanding founded?

In 1905, according to Wikidata. Blanding’s post office opened in 1904, and the census of 1910 counted 385 people here.

How does Blanding rank for history?

Blanding is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Blanding?

Two places: the Edge of Cedars Indian Ruin (listed 1971) and the Swallow's Nest (1996).

How old are the homes in Blanding?

5% of Blanding’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (16), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.