Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Charleston

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Charleston

Charleston dates to 1852, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1880.

1852founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Charleston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Charleston began

When was Charleston founded?

1852

Charleston dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 246 in 18802020 census: 436174 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

What stands out about Charleston’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1970, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Charleston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewD&RGW RR Provo Canyon Branch: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Charleston, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020524 in 1910Low: 196

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1970, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Charleston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Charleston.

Read it all →

In 1858, trapper Aaron Daniels moved to a place on the Provo River just north of where Charleston is today.

The first farmers put in crops at Charleston in 1859, and the first houses were built by George Noakes and William Manning late that year near Noakes springs. Manning and George Noakes were the only residents until 1863 when a few others moved in. In 1866, there were about a dozen families, and after that, the population began to grow even faster.

Noakes was the first Presiding elder in Charleston. Until 1877, the branch was part of the Heber Ward. The Charleston Ward was formed in July 1877, with Nymphus C. Murdock as bishop. The ward had 397 members in 1930, with 467 people living within the ward boundaries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Charleston, 1852 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingCharleston is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Charleston post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 524
  6. 1955Post officeThe Charleston post office closes
  7. 1956In the archiveD&RGW RR Provo Canyon Branch
  8. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1982In the archiveWMR 1744 alongside Deer Creek Reservoir August 1982RPx - Flickr - drewj1946
By decade

Charleston, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s–1980s2 items
D&RGW RR Provo Canyon Branch1956D&RGW RR Provo Canyon BranchWMR 1744 alongside Deer Creek Reservoir August 1982RPx - Flickr - drewj19461982WMR 1744 alongside Deer Creek Reservoir August 1982RP…
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
Today4 recent
Northeast at US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 162016Northeast at US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 16North from US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 162016North from US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 16North at US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 162016North at US-189 & SR 113 junction, Apr 16Charleston Utah Town Hall2010Charleston Utah Town Hall
On the map

Charleston on the map, 1966 to 1993

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

Charleston on the 1966 USGS mapCharleston on the 1993 USGS map1966Charleston sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

D&RGW RR Provo Canyon Branch
Retake this viewD&RGW RR Provo Canyon Branch, 1956

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Charleston

Nobody well known was born in Charleston itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Paul D. BoyerAmerican biochemist · b. 1918
Julianne HoughAmerican dancer, choreographer, actress, singer… · b. 1988
Steven HolcombAmerican bobsledder · b. 1980
Daniel Wayne SermónAmerican musician, songwriter, and record produ… · b. 1984
Evan McMullinAmerican political candidate · b. 1976
Gary HerbertAmerican politician · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Charleston had its own post office from 1864 to 1955.

Charleston
1864–1955
18601940today
1cemetery inside Charleston
Charleston

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.

DanielIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Charleston’s history

What year was Charleston founded?

In 1852, according to Wikidata. Charleston’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1880 counted 246 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 (6), 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.