Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mendon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mendon is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mendon’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 Mendon’s 94.5 sits above most of its state (89% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1859.
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 Mendon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Mendon was settled in 1859. James G. Willie, leader of the ill-fated Mormon handcart pioneer company known as the Willie Company, was one of the early settlers of Mendon. He served at times as mayor and postmaster of the town.
The Forster Hotel is one of nine sites in Mendon listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mendon made national news in 1974 when the city council ended the century-old tradition of paying the mayor a salary of $15 per year and council members $10 per year, the figure that had been set at the time of Mendon's incorporation in 1870. The mayor's salary was increased to $300 per year— roughly $5.75 per week— and the council members were to be paid $5 for each of the 18 council meetings.
In 1859, according to Wikidata. Mendon’s post office opened in 1861.
How does Mendon rank for history?
Mendon is more historic than 60% 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 Mendon?
9 listings: 9 buildings, among them the James Gardner House (listed 1982, the first). 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mendon?
10% of Mendon’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 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 Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
