Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to La Sal

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · La Sal

La Sal’s post office opened in 1878

Most of La Sal was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How La Sal began

When was La Sal founded?

1878

The La Sal post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1930. Another post office, Lasal (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 348148 years
Founding year: the first La Sal post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1930.

What stands out about La Sal’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 La Sal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of La Sal’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Sal’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

La Sal, in brief

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

La Sal is a census-designated place (CDP) in northeastern San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 348 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the La Sal Mountains which means in Spanish "The Salt". The area is known for its uranium resources.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 395 to 348 (-12%).

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

Timeline

La Sal, 1878 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe La Sal post office opens
  3. 1897Post officeThe Lasal post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1938Post officeThe Lasal post office closes
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

La Sal on the map, 1954 to 2001

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

La Sal on the 1954 USGS mapLa Sal on the 1987 USGS mapLa Sal on the 2001 USGS map1954Mt Peale 1 SW 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 La Sal.

Famous people

Famous people close to La Sal

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

See all →
J
Jacques BoyerAmerican racing cyclist · b. 1955
O
Oscar W. McConkie, Jr.Politician and lawyer · b. 1926
R
Rex BerryAmerican football player · b. 1924
Arnie BeyelerAmerican baseball player · b. 1964
G
Gea JohnsonAmerican bobsledder · b. 1967
K
Kay DaltonAmerican gridiron football player and coach · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

La Sal’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Lasal, opened and closed inside today’s town.

La Sal
1878–today
Lasal
1897–1938
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Alice MinemineBeaver ShaftmineHecla ShaftmineHomestake MinemineHomestake MinemineLa Sal MinemineLisbon MinemineSnow Ball MinemineSnowball Minemine
1cemetery inside La Sal
La Sal

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

Questions about La Sal’s history

What year was La Sal founded?

The La Sal post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1930.

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 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.