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B−History
History · Draper

Draper dates to 1849, and 17 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #33 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Draper was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1980.

1849founded
17on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Draper began

When was Draper founded?

1849

Draper dates its founding to 1849 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 5,521 in 19802020 census: 51,017177 years

How historic is Draper?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1853.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Draper’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Draper is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #33 of 119 in Utah. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Draper’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.4) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register17 listings, 36 historic buildings, 7.2 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 73%

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 Draper’s 7.2 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 36 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1849.

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 Draper’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.Landmarks on the Register17 places on the National Register.Lost villages11 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Draper.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Draper’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Draper’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 viewProductive sheep husbandry (Page 159): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

17 historic places in Draper

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

places listed
17
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
36
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Draper Park School
Draper Park SchoolJ. R. Allen HouseLauritz Smith House, built 1865Joseph M. and Celestia Smith House, built 1879Mary Smith HouseBenjamin and Olivia Meek HouseDraper Poultrymen and Egg Producers' PlantJoseph E. and Mina W. Mickelsen HouseMickelsen, S.J., Hardware Store and Lumber YardPerry and Agnes Wadsworth Fitzgerald HouseGlen M. and Roxie Walbeck HouseLauritz H. and Emma Smith House, built 1884Crossgrove House, built 1885Reid Beck House, built 1899Nielsen-Sanderson House, built 1937Enniss Auto Service StationUtah State Penitentiary Chapel by the Wayside
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Eclectic7
Late Victorian6
Classical Revival2
Commercial Style2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements2
Cross-wing2
Draper Park SchoolClassical Revival
J. R. Allen HouseBox Style
Lauritz Smith HouseSaltbox · Built 1865
Joseph M. and Celestia Smith HouseLate Victorian · Built 1879
Mary Smith HouseVernacular Cross Wing
Benjamin and Olivia Meek HouseLate Victorian
Draper Poultrymen and Egg Producers' PlantCommercial Style
Joseph E. and Mina W. Mickelsen HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
All 17 listings
Mickelsen, S.J., Hardware Store and Lumber YardBuilding · listed 2004Perry and Agnes Wadsworth Fitzgerald HouseBuilding · listed 2004Glen M. and Roxie Walbeck HouseBuilding · listed 2006Lauritz H. and Emma Smith HouseBuilding · listed 2006Crossgrove HouseBuilding · listed 2012Reid Beck HouseBuilding · listed 2012Nielsen-Sanderson HouseBuilding · listed 2018Enniss Auto Service StationBuilding · listed 2024Utah State Penitentiary Chapel by the WaysideBuilding · listed 2026

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Draper’s post office has been open since 1853.

Hamlets and corners on the map
AllenCloverland EstatesDraper OaksDraper Old FarmDrapervilleGreenfield FarmsHidden HillsPotawatomiRiverton SidingSomerville in DraperWillowbrook Estates
1cemetery inside Draper
Draper City

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

The story

How Draper came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Draper.

Read it all →

In the fall of 1849, Ebenezer Brown brought cattle to graze along the mountain stream of South Willow Creek. The next spring, Ebenezer moved with his wife Phebe Draper Palmer Brown and their family to settle in Sivogah, the Native American name for the area, which means "willows." By the end of 1850, residents of the small settlement consisted of Ebenezer Brown and his three children (by a prior marriage), Phebe Draper Palmer Brown and her two children (by a prior marriage), and Phebe's brother, William Draper Jr. and his large family, numbering about fifteen. Consequently, by the end of the settlement's first year, most residents were members of the Draper Family, and William Draper Jr. was soon called to be the presiding elder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the area. During this time, the Drapers mainly farmed, and Ebenezer Brown ranched and sold cattle to immi…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Draper, 1849 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingDraper is established
  3. 1853Post officeThe Draper post office opens
  4. 1865BuiltLauritz Smith House is built
  5. 1879BuiltJoseph M. and Celestia Smith House is built
  6. 1884BuiltLauritz H. and Emma Smith House is built
  7. 1885BuiltCrossgrove House is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1918In the archiveProductive sheep husbandry (Page 159)
  10. 1922Born hereDouglas R. Stringfellow is born here
  11. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1987Born hereDia Frampton is born here
  13. 1992Born hereKealia Watt is born here
  14. 1999Born hereZach Wilson is born here
By decade

Draper, decade by decade

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

1910s1 item
Productive sheep husbandry (Page 159)1918Productive sheep husbandry (Page 159)
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
Today10 recent
Draper City Police vehicle, May 162016Draper City Police vehicle, May 16Northwest along tracks, E 12715 South, Draper, Utah, Apr 152015Northwest along tracks, E 12715 South, Draper, Utah, …Field south of Draper Town Center station, Apr 152015Field south of Draper Town Center station, Apr 15Loveland aquarium2014Loveland aquariumSalt Lake Valley From The Air2010Salt Lake Valley From The Air0807 Draper Historic Park20080807 Draper Historic Park2007 01 11 lav-slc 13220072007 01 11 lav-slc 132Corner Canyon22006Corner Canyon2WasatchMtns ISS011-E-138892005WasatchMtns ISS011-E-13889Traverse Mountains (South Mountain), Draper and Alpine, Utah2004Traverse Mountains (South Mountain), Draper and Alpin…
On the map

Draper on the map, 1952 to 1998

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

Draper on the 1952 USGS mapDraper on the 1963 USGS mapDraper on the 1970 USGS mapDraper on the 1998 USGS map1952Draper 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 Draper.

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.

Productive sheep husbandry (Page 159)
Retake this viewProductive sheep husbandry (Page 159), 1918

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Draper, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00019802000202051,017

Grew from 5,521 people in 1980 to 51,017 in 2020, 9 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Draper

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

See all →
Dia FramptonAmerican musician · b. 1987
Kealia WattAmerican soccer player · b. 1992
Z
Zach WilsonAmerican football player · b. 1999
Douglas R. StringfellowAmerican politician and fabulist. · b. 1922
G
Gregg GodfreyAmerican director and film director · b. 1969
K
Katie LarkinAmerican soccer player · b. 1987
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Riverton4 historic placesCSouth Jordan4 historic placesCSandy55 historic placesB−Bluffdale1 historic placeCLehi16 historic placesC+Alpine3 historic placesCHighland1 historic placeD

Questions about Draper’s history

What year was Draper founded?

In 1849, according to Wikidata. Draper’s post office opened in 1853, and the census of 1980 counted 5,521 people here.

How does Draper rank for history?

Draper is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Draper?

17 listings: 17 buildings, among them the Draper Park School (listed 1980, the first). 36 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Draper?

0.7% of Draper’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (11), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (17), 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.