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History · Circleville

Circleville dates to 1864, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1880.

1864founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Ntsimp · Public domain
Quick answers

How Circleville began

When was Circleville founded?

1864

Circleville dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 416 in 18802020 census: 550162 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Circleville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Circleville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Circleville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Circleville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Circleville.

Read it all →

In the area that became Circleville, the first European colonizers arrived in 1864. They were Mormon settlers from Mormonism's largest denomination the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The town is located within Circle Valley which gets its name from its circular shape. The valley is completely encircled by mountains except where the Sevier River enters and exits the valley in the north and south.

In April 1866, the settlement was the site of the Circleville Massacre, a lynching of 27 Southern Paiute men, women, and children by LDS settlers during the Black Hawk War. In 2016, a monument was dedicated in the town park to remember the Native American people murdered during the massacre.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Circleville, 1864 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864
    FoundingCircleville is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Circleville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Circleville, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Robert Leroy Parker Childhood Cabin2019Robert Leroy Parker Childhood CabinWinking Horse2013Winking HorseThe Hen2013The HenSnowy River2013Snowy RiverRain Soaked Farm Field2013Rain Soaked Farm FieldRain Soaked Earth Landscape2013Rain Soaked Earth LandscapeRain Soaked Earth Landscape II2013Rain Soaked Earth Landscape IIDistant Horse in2013Distant Horse inCurious Horse2013Curious HorseAfter the Snow Landscape2013After the Snow LandscapeSnowy Farmyard2012Snowy FarmyardLandscape View, at2011Landscape View, at
On the map

Circleville on the map, 1966 to 2001

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

Circleville on the 1966 USGS mapCircleville on the 1980 USGS mapCircleville on the 2001 USGS map1966Circleville 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 Circleville.

People over time

Circleville, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 683

Between 416 and 683 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Circleville

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

See all →
Philo FarnsworthAmerican inventor · b. 1906
Betty CompsonAmerican actress · b. 1897
Marie WindsorAmerican actress · b. 1919
Wayne OwensAmerican politician · b. 1937
Whittni MorganAmerican middle-distance runner and steeplechas… · b. 1997
Evan VickersAmerican politician · b. 1954

Questions about Circleville’s history

What year was Circleville founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Circleville’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1880 counted 416 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (12), 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.