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History · Jensen

Jensen dates to 1877

Most of Jensen was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: 5 old photos and papers and maps from 1965 on.

1877founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jensen’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jensen began

When was Jensen founded?

1877

Jensen dates its founding to 1877 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1888.

2020 census: 372149 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1888.
The story so far

Jensen, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jensen yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Jensen is a census-designated place in eastern Uintah County, Utah, United States. The population was 372 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Green River and U.S. Route 40, southeast of the city of Vernal, the county seat of Uintah County, and about 17 miles west of the Colorado border. Although Jensen is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 84035. Jensen was first settled in 1877 and named for Lars Jensen, an early prospector and ferryman. Today its main importance is as the Utah entrance to Dinosaur National Monument.

Jensen was established in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 412 to 372 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Jensen, 1877 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingJensen is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Jensen post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1991In the archiveDinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue and sign, Route 40
By decade

Jensen, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s3 items
Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue and sign, Route 401991Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue…Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue upper detail, Route 401991Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue…Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue, Route 401991Dinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, dinosaur statue…
Date unknown2 to date
Jensen Bridge, Spanning Green River at Town of JensenDate?Jensen Bridge, Spanning Green River at Town of JensenQuarry Visitor Center, U.S. Highway 40, 8 miles north of JensenDate?Quarry Visitor Center, U.S. Highway 40, 8 miles north…
Today6 recent
West at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep 172017West at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep …Utah Welcome Center, Sep 172017Utah Welcome Center, Sep 17South at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep 172017South at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep…North at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep 172017North at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep…Fire station, Jensen, Utah, Sep 172017Fire station, Jensen, Utah, Sep 17East at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep 172017East at US 40 & SR-149 junction in Jensen, Utah, Sep …
On the map

Jensen on the map in 1965

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jensen.

Jensen on the 1965 USGS map1965Jensen 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 Jensen.

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.

Jensen Bridge, Spanning Green River at Town of Jensen
Retake this viewJensen Bridge, Spanning Green River at Town of Jensen

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Start Jensen’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDinosaur Village RV Mobile Home Park, d…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Jensen’s history

What year was Jensen founded?

In 1877, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Jensen’s post office opened in 1888.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.