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B+History
History · Lewiston

Lewiston dates to 1870, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Lewiston Tithing Office and Granary, the Lewiston Community Building and the Martin and Martha Pond Farmstead. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.

1870founded
3on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lewiston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lewiston began

When was Lewiston founded?

1870

Lewiston dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 525 in 18802020 census: 1,939156 years

How historic is Lewiston?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.
History grade

What drives Lewiston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lewiston is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lewiston’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.7% of homes (±5.1) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 29.1 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
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 Lewiston’s 29.1 sits above most of its state (76% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1870.

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 Lewiston’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19144 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1998. Watch Lewiston change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Lewiston on the map, 1914 to 1998

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

Lewiston on the 1914 USGS mapLewiston on the 1964 USGS mapLewiston on the 1984 USGS mapLewiston on the 1998 USGS map1914Logan 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 Lewiston.

The story so far

Lewiston, in brief

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

Lewiston is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The city is one of the most northern in Utah, bordering the state of Idaho. The population was 1,939 at the 2020 census, and Lewiston is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho (partial) Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Lewiston was established in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,766 to 1,939 (+10%).

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

Timeline

Lewiston, 1870 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingLewiston is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Cub Hill post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Lewiston post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Cub Hill post office closes
  6. 1898BuiltLewiston Tithing Office and Granary is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1940In the archiveUnloading truckful of sugar beets at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah
By decade

Lewiston, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Unloading truckful of sugar beets at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Unloading truckful of sugar beets at sugar beet plant…Unloader and distributor of sugar beets at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Unloader and distributor of sugar beets at sugar beet…Pile of sugar beets waiting for processing at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Pile of sugar beets waiting for processing at sugar b…Unloader and pile of sugar beets at sugar beet processing plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Unloader and pile of sugar beets at sugar beet proces…Trucks full of sugar beets waiting to be unloaded at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Trucks full of sugar beets waiting to be unloaded at …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pile of sugar beets waiting for processing at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pile of sugar be…
1950s–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
Today2 recent
Lewiston Utah Community Building2014Lewiston Utah Community BuildingLewiston Center looking East 2 - UT-612013Lewiston Center looking East 2 - UT-61
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.

Unloading truckful of sugar beets at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah
Retake this viewUnloading truckful of sugar beets at sugar beet plant. Lewiston, Utah, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Lewiston

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Lewiston Tithing Office and Granary
Lewiston Tithing Office and Granary, built 1898Lewiston Community BuildingMartin and Martha Pond Farmstead
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Moderne1
High Victorian Eclectic1
Lewiston Tithing Office and GranaryItalianate · Built 1898
Lewiston Community BuildingModerne
Martin and Martha Pond FarmsteadHigh Victorian Eclectic

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

People over time

Lewiston, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020201,939

Grew from 525 people in 1880 to 1,939 in 2020, 3 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Lewiston’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Cub Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cub Hill
1878–1891
Lewiston
1890–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Lewiston
Lewiston City

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

Help out

Finish Lewiston’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUnloading truckful of sugar beets at su…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

CoveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCornishIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lewiston’s history

What year was Lewiston founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Lewiston’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1880 counted 525 people here.

How does Lewiston rank for history?

Lewiston is more historic than 74% 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.

What is on the National Register in Lewiston?

Three places: the Lewiston Tithing Office and Granary (listed 1985), the Lewiston Community Building (1985) and the Martin and Martha Pond Farmstead (1997).

How old are the homes in Lewiston?

27% of Lewiston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 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 (2), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.