The story
Read it all →How Maeser came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Maeser.
Maeser was first settled in 1878. It became an incorporated municipality in 1935, but disincorporated on July 9, 1970.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Maeser
Maeser dates to 1878, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #73 of 119 in Utah. What drives it
Most of Maeser was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listing is the Francis 'Frank' and Eunice Smith House. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1940.
1878founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Maeser began
When was Maeser founded?
1878
Maeser dates its founding to 1878 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.
First census: 428 in 19402020 census: 4,081148 years
How historic is Maeser?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Maeser’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maeser is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #73 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maeser’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.8) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 4 historic buildings, 9.0 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 39%
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 Maeser’s 9.0 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1878.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Maeser’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Maeser’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maeser’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Maeser on the map, 1917 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maeser. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1917Vernal sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Maeser.
Timeline
Maeser, 1878 to 1917
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1878FoundingMaeser is established
- 1892Post officeThe Millward post office opens
- 1893Post officeThe Millward post office closes
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Maeser post office opens
- 1910Post officeThe Maeser post office closes
- 1914
BuiltFrancis 'Frank' and Eunice Smith House is built - 1917
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Maeser, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2010On the National Register
1 historic place in Maeser
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Francis 'Frank' and Eunice Smith House
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Prairie School1
Vernacular1
Foursquare variant1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Maeser, census by census
Grew from 428 people in 1940 to 4,081 in 2020, 9 times over.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Maeser’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Maeser had its own post office from 1903 to 1910. Another post office, Millward, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Millward
Maeser
18901960today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Maeser
FairviewRock Point
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Maeser’s history
What year was Maeser founded?
In 1878, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Maeser’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1940 counted 428 people here.
How does Maeser rank for history?
Maeser is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Maeser?
One place: the Francis 'Frank' and Eunice Smith House (listed 2001).
How old are the homes in Maeser?
0.0% of Maeser’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 2001.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.