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BHistory
History · Richfield

Richfield dates to 1864, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #26 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1870.

1864founded
4on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Richfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Richfield began

When was Richfield founded?

1864

Richfield dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 4 in 18702020 census: 8,201162 years

How historic is Richfield?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Richfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richfield is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #26 of 119 in Utah. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1864, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.5% of homes (±4.7) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 4.9 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 79%

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 Richfield’s 4.9 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1864.

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 Richfield’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1904 to 1930, drew every building in Richfield.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersJake Garn, Walter Frederick Morrison and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Richfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJensen's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Richfield, building by building, 1904–1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Richfield fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 21904Sheet 2 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Richfield

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Jenson, Jens Larson, Lime Kiln
Jenson, Jens Larson, Lime Kiln, built 1903Young Block, built 1907Richfield Carnegie Library, built 1913US Post Office-Richfield Main
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Kyhl, J.H.1
Jenson, Jens L.1
Bungalow1
Craftsman1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Jenson, Jens Larson, Lime KilnKyhl, J.H. · Built 1903
Young BlockBuilt 1907
Richfield Carnegie LibraryBungalow · Built 1913
US Post Office-Richfield MainNeo-Classical Revival

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

The story

How Richfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richfield.

Read it all →

Prehistoric people occupied the Richfield area for more than 7,000 years. Fremont culture remains are found near most community sites in the Sevier area. They are dated from approximately 1 BC to 1000 BC. In the late summer of 1776, Father Escalante and his party of Spanish explorers passed through the general vicinity, looking for a trail to link Nuevo Mexico and California. During the late 1820s, Jedediah Smith and other fur traders crossed the area. Sevier County lay on one of the variants on the Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and California and was used by travelers between 1830 and 1850.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Richfield, 1864 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864
    FoundingRichfield is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Richfield post office opens
  4. 1895Born hereMary Thurman is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903BuiltJenson, Jens Larson, Lime Kiln is built
  7. 1907BuiltYoung Block is built
  8. 1910Born hereJoseph Hansen is born here
  9. 1913BuiltRichfield Carnegie Library is built
  10. 1920Born hereWalter Frederick Morrison is born here
  11. 1930In the archiveJensen's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one-half block off highway, U.S. 89, Richfield, Utah …
  12. 1932Born hereJake Garn is born here
  13. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Richfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Jensen's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one-half block off highway, U.S. 89, Richfield, Utah (81573)c. 1930Jensen's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one-half block of…
1940s–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
Today15 recent
A positive message in the front yard of a modest home2022A positive message in the front yard of a modest homeA recent snowfall gives the low mountains outside the city of Richfield a powdered-sugar look in the western U.S. state…2022A recent snowfall gives the low mountains outside the…The Freedom Stage live-performance venue2022The Freedom Stage live-performance venueUT-120 South2013UT-120 SouthUntitled photo2013Untitled photoNorthbound UT-1182013Northbound UT-118BL-70, UT-120 BGS at2013BL-70, UT-120 BGS atSeveral Spiral Petroglyphs - DyeClan.com2012Several Spiral Petroglyphs - DyeClan.comRichfield, Utah2012Richfield, UtahRichfield2012RichfieldNeato Arch in Neato Canyon2012Neato Arch in Neato CanyonLooking Down into Neato Canyon2012Looking Down into Neato CanyonGetting Ready for the Parade2012Getting Ready for the ParadeRainbow over IFA DyeClan.com2011Rainbow over IFA DyeClan.comHistorical Marker - Peterson Mill DyeClan.com2011Historical Marker - Peterson Mill DyeClan.com
On the map

Richfield on the map, 1961 to 2001

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

Richfield on the 1961 USGS mapRichfield on the 1986 USGS mapRichfield on the 2001 USGS map1961Richfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Richfield.

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's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one-half block off highway, U.S. 89, Richfield, Utah (81573)
Retake this viewJensen's Motel, new, modern, quiet, one-half block off highway, U.S. 89, Richfield, Utah (81573), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Richfield, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020208,201

Grew from 4 people in 1870 to 8,201 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Richfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jake GarnAmerican politician and general · b. 1932
Walter Frederick MorrisonInventor of the Frisbee · b. 1920
Mary ThurmanAmerican actress · b. 1895
J
Joseph HansenAmerican Trotskyist and leading figure in the S… · b. 1910
Howard C. NielsonUnited States Congressman from Utah · b. 1924
Ann Marie McIff AllenAmerican judge · b. 1972

Questions about Richfield’s history

What year was Richfield founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Richfield’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1870 counted 4 people here.

How does Richfield rank for history?

Richfield is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Richfield?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Richfield?

21% of Richfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.