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C−History
History · Duchesne

Duchesne dates to 1905

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Duchesne was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1910.

1905founded
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Duchesne’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Duchesne began

When was Duchesne founded?

1905

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

First census: 929 in 19102020 census: 1,588121 years

How historic is Duchesne?

C−

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Duchesne’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Duchesne is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Duchesne’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19409.4% of homes (±4.3) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical UT town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder

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 Duchesne’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). 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 Duchesne’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 a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Duchesne’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Duchesne’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 viewFive seat Buick, an auto stage from DuC…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Duchesne, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020929 in 1910Low: 590

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Duchesne came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Duchesne.

Read it all →

18 September 1776 The Dominguez–Escalante Expedition came from the east where they crossed Blue Bench and descended into the valley north of the present-day town of Duchesne. "We ascended a not very high mesa [Blue Bench] which was level and very stony, traveled about three-quarters of a league including ascent and descent, crossed another small river [Duchesne River] which near here enters the San Cosme (Strawberry River), named it Santa Caterina de Sena, and camped on its banks." "Along these three rivers we have crossed today, there is plenty of good land for crops to support three good settlements, with opportunities for irrigation, beautiful cottonwood groves, good pastures, timber, and firewood nearby."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Duchesne, 1905 to 2010

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905
    FoundingDuchesne is established
  3. 1905Post officeThe Theodore post office opens
  4. 1911Post officeThe Theodore post office closes
  5. 1911Post officeThe Duchesne post office opens
  6. 1914In the archiveFive seat Buick, an auto stage from DuChesne to Vernal estate, Utah
  7. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1991In the archivePolar Queen Drive-In Restaurant sign, Route 40
  9. 21st century
  10. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,690
By decade

Duchesne, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Five seat Buick, an auto stage from DuChesne to Vernal estate, Utah1914Five seat Buick, an auto stage from DuChesne to Verna…
1920s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Polar Queen Drive-In Restaurant sign, Route 401991Polar Queen Drive-In Restaurant sign, Route 40
Today10 recent
West at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 172017West at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 17Welcome to Duchesne, Sep 172017Welcome to Duchesne, Sep 17South at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Utah, Sep 172017South at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Uta…South at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 172017South at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep …North at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Utah, Sep 172017North at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Uta…North at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 172017North at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep …East at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Utah, Sep 172017East at US 40 US 191 & SR-87 junction, Duchesne, Utah…East at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 172017East at US 40 & US 191 junction, Duchesne, Utah Sep 17Duchesne City water tanks, Sep 172017Duchesne City water tanks, Sep 17Duchesne Utah2009Duchesne Utah
On the map

Duchesne on the map, 1939 to 1980

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

Duchesne on the 1939 USGS mapDuchesne on the 1965 USGS mapDuchesne on the 1980 USGS map1939Duchesne sheet · 1:125,000

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

Every building

Duchesne, 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.

Duchesne fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

Five seat Buick, an auto stage from DuChesne to Vernal estate, Utah
Retake this viewFive seat Buick, an auto stage from DuChesne to Vernal estate, Utah, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Duchesne’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Theodore, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Theodore
1905–1911
Duchesne
1911–today
19001960today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Duchesne
Duchesne CityTheodore

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

Questions about Duchesne’s history

What year was Duchesne founded?

In 1905, according to Wikidata. Duchesne’s post office opened in 1905, and the census of 1910 counted 929 people here.

How does Duchesne rank for history?

Duchesne is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Duchesne?

9% of Duchesne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1978.

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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.