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A−History
History · Willard

Willard dates to 1851, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 117 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1870.

1851founded
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Willard’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Willard began

When was Willard founded?

1851

Willard dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 552 in 18702020 census: 1,978175 years

How historic is Willard?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Willard’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Willard is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Willard’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.1% of homes (±9.8) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 117 historic buildings, 529 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
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 Willard’s 529 sits above most of its state (98% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 117 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 (±9.8 points). Two sources give 1851.

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 Willard’s past

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

A historic districtThe Willard Historic District takes in 117 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 117 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
117
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Willard Historic District
Willard Historic District, built 1851
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Gothic1
Willard Historic DistrictGreek Revival · Built 1851

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

The story

How Willard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Willard.

Read it all →

In 1851, several companies of Mormon settlers were sent north from Salt Lake City to a northern bay of the Great Salt Lake called Bear River Bay. In 1957 the US Corps of Engineers built a fresh water lake which is now called Willard Bay. A company of nineteen located on North Willow Creek, 7 miles (11 km) south of the site where Brigham City would be established. Two years later, the infant community relocated two miles further south, and a fort wall was built due to the possibility of attacks by the Shohone and their allies. Willard's first settlers were mostly of Welsh, English, Scottish and Dutch descent. Most were farmers, but some were merchants, carpenters, blacksmiths and school teachers. Historically, the economy of Willard centered on agriculture, with fruit crops being the major product. Gravel excavation and worked stone have also been a significant source of income.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Willard, 1851 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingWillard is established
  3. 1851BuiltWillard Historic District is built
  4. 1855Born hereAnson Vasco Call II is born here
  5. 1859Post officeThe Willard post office opens
  6. 1870In the archive505 MSS P 24 B5 F5
  7. 1874Born hereWilliam E. Cole is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1912Born hereElmer Ward is born here
  10. 1922Born hereMelba Rae is born here
  11. 1923In the archiveWillard Utah flood August 13 1923
  12. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Willard, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s3 items
505 MSS P 24 B5 F5c. 1870505 MSS P 24 B5 F5504 MSS P 24 B5 F5c. 1870504 MSS P 24 B5 F5Willard City, Box Elder County, Utah1872Willard City, Box Elder County, Utah
1920s1 item
Willard Utah flood August 13 19231923Willard Utah flood August 13 1923
1930s–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
Date unknown3 to date
Shadrach Jones House, 101 West Second SouthDate?Shadrach Jones House, 101 West Second SouthGeorge Mason House, 150 North Second WestDate?George Mason House, 150 North Second WestJohn L. Edwards House, 55 South Second WestDate?John L. Edwards House, 55 South Second West
Today10 recent
Willard basin and London Spire peak2024Willard basin and London Spire peakLondon Spire peak and South2024London Spire peak and SouthUtah2014UtahUtah2014UtahUntitled photo2011Untitled photoEast end of UT-315 at US-892011East end of UT-315 at US-89Sunset In Winter2010Sunset In WinterWillard42009Willard4Willard32009Willard3White Rock2008White Rock
On the map

Willard on the map, 1955 to 1992

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

Willard on the 1955 USGS mapWillard on the 1969 USGS mapWillard on the 1992 USGS map1955Willard 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 Willard.

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.

505 MSS P 24 B5 F5
Retake this view505 MSS P 24 B5 F5, c. 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Willard, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020201,978

Grew from 552 people in 1870 to 1,978 in 2020, 3 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Willard

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

See all →
M
Melba RaeAmerican actress · b. 1922
William E. ColeUnited States Army general · b. 1874
E
Elmer WardAmerican football player · b. 1912
A
Anson Vasco Call IIAmerican mayor · b. 1855
Help out

Start Willard’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view505 MSS P 24 B5 F5: 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.

PerryIts storyC−

Questions about Willard’s history

What year was Willard founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Willard’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1870 counted 552 people here.

How does Willard rank for history?

Willard is more historic than 79% 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 Willard?

One place: the Willard Historic District (listed 1974).

How old are the homes in Willard?

21% of Willard’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (3), 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) 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.