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B−History
History · Tremonton

Tremonton dates to 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #46 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Tremonton was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Holmgren Farmstead. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1900.

1888founded
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tremonton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tremonton began

When was Tremonton founded?

1888

Tremonton dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 368 in 19002020 census: 9,894138 years

How historic is Tremonton?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1904.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tremonton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tremonton is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #46 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tremonton’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.4% of homes (±4.1) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 7 historic buildings, 6.1 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 62%

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 Tremonton’s 6.1 sits near the middle of its state (58% 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 C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1888.

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 Tremonton’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tremonton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tremonton’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 viewThe pattern of Mormon farms looking fro…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Tremonton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tremonton.

Read it all →

Although the first settlers came to the Tremonton area in 1888, it remained largely uninhabited until just before 1900, when land agents started promoting the Bear River Valley as a place for Midwestern farmers to relocate. Small groups from Nebraska and Illinois began to arrive in 1898. These settlers were a diverse blend of Protestant faiths, in contrast to their mostly Mormon neighbors. Then an Apostolic Christian Church group came in 1901–1904. The main body was from Tremont, Illinois, joined by a few families from Ohio and Kansas. Mostly of German descent, this group was referred to as the "German colony".

Chapters2025 shooting of police

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tremonton, 1888 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingTremonton is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Post officeThe Tremonton post office opens
  5. 1930Born hereThomas L. Steffen is born here
  6. 1933Born hereWilliam A. Wilson is born here
  7. 1937Born hereJay Silvester is born here
  8. 1940In the archiveThe pattern of Mormon farms looking from the dryland area east towards Tremonton, Utah
  9. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1969Born hereJeff Stenquist is born here
By decade

Tremonton, decade by decade

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

1940s4 items
The pattern of Mormon farms looking from the dryland area east towards Tremonton, Utah1940The pattern of Mormon farms looking from the dryland …Mormon farm family, members of FSA (Farm Security Administration) dental cooperative, in dentist's office. Tremonton, B…1940Mormon farm family, members of FSA (Farm Security Adm…Therus Sessions drives the grain drill he caretakes for the Sessions Grain Drill Association at Tremonton, Box Elder Co…1940Therus Sessions drives the grain drill he caretakes f…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mormon farm family, members of FSA (Farm Security Administration) dental cooperati…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mormon farm fami…
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
Today8 recent
Tremonten RJ's 4160 (5-12-24)2024Tremonten RJ's 4160 (5-12-24)Tremonten RJ's 4159 (5-12-24)2024Tremonten RJ's 4159 (5-12-24)Tremonten Hampton Inn 4158 (5-12-24)2024Tremonten Hampton Inn 4158 (5-12-24)Tremonten 4156 (5-12-24) panorama2024Tremonten 4156 (5-12-24) panoramaTremonten 4154 (5-12-24)2024Tremonten 4154 (5-12-24)Sinclair dino in Treamonton, Utah, Jun 172017Sinclair dino in Treamonton, Utah, Jun 17East on SR-102 in Tremonton, Utah, Jun 172017East on SR-102 in Tremonton, Utah, Jun 17Tremonton diner2005Tremonton diner
On the map

Tremonton on the map, 1961 to 1989

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

Tremonton on the 1961 USGS mapTremonton on the 1989 USGS map1961Tremonton 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 Tremonton.

Every building

Tremonton, building by building, 1917–1929

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.

Tremonton fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

The pattern of Mormon farms looking from the dryland area east towards Tremonton, Utah
Retake this viewThe pattern of Mormon farms looking from the dryland area east towards Tremonton, Utah, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Tremonton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Holmgren Farmstead
Holmgren Farmstead
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Improvement Era Dairy Barn and Outbuildings1
Holmgren FarmsteadImprovement Era Dairy Barn and Outbuildings

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

People over time

Tremonton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019001920194019601980200020209,894

Grew from 368 people in 1900 to 9,894 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Tremonton

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

See all →
Jay SilvesterAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1937
T
Thomas L. SteffenAmerican supreme court justice · b. 1930
W
William A. WilsonScholar of Mormon folklore · b. 1933
J
Jeff StenquistAmerican politician · b. 1969
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Tremonton’s post office has been open since 1904.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Crossroads
1cemetery inside Tremonton
Riverview

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.

Garland2 historic placesBElwoodIts storyC

Questions about Tremonton’s history

What year was Tremonton founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata. Tremonton’s post office opened in 1904, and the census of 1900 counted 368 people here.

How does Tremonton rank for history?

Tremonton is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #46 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 Tremonton?

One place: the Holmgren Farmstead (listed 2001).

How old are the homes in Tremonton?

7% of Tremonton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.