Hyrum dates to 1860, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #41 of 119 in Utah. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Hyrum First Ward Meetinghouse, the Soren Hanson House and the Elite Hall. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hyrum’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hyrum is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #41 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hyrum’s overall grade.
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 Hyrum’s 2.9 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1860.
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 Hyrum’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hyrum was founded in 1860 by a group of 23 families, mainly either Danish immigrants or sons of Ezra T. Benson. Benson organized an LDS ward there in May 1860. The town got a post office in 1861. By 1900 the population had grown to the point that the ward was divided in three. Hyrum had 1,869 inhabitants in 1930.
On December 12, 2006, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) staged a coordinated predawn raid at E.A. Miller, a meat packing plant in Hyrum, and at five other Swift & Company plants located in the western United States, interviewing workers and hauling off hundreds in buses.
In 1860, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hyrum’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1870 counted 708 people here.
How does Hyrum rank for history?
Hyrum is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Hyrum?
Three places: the Hyrum First Ward Meetinghouse (listed 1980), the Soren Hanson House (1982) and the Elite Hall (2003).
How old are the homes in Hyrum?
12% of Hyrum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
2011
