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BlanchardvillePhoto: Bbaillod (Uploads) · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Blanchardville

Blanchardville dates to 1840, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1880.

1840founded
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bbaillod (Uploads) · Public domain
Quick answers

How Blanchardville began

When was Blanchardville founded?

1840

Blanchardville dates its founding to 1840 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 169 in 18802020 census: 807186 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓

What stands out about Blanchardville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Blanchardville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Blanchardville’s homes were built before 1942.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Blanchardville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blanchardville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Blanchardville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blanchardville.

Read it all →

The community was originally settled by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) in the early 1840s, who named it Zarahemla. The Mormon settlers mined lead ore and farmed. Blanchardville's first mill was built in 1840.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blanchardville, 1840 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingBlanchardville is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Blanchardville post office opens
  4. 1877Born hereM. J. Cleary is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Blanchardville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Blanchardville, Decoration Day 19082013Blanchardville, Decoration Day 1908Blanchardville2007Blanchardville
On the map

Blanchardville on the map, 1923 to 1962

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

Blanchardville on the 1923 USGS mapBlanchardville on the 1962 USGS map1923Blanchardville 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 Blanchardville.

People over time

Blanchardville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 825

Between 169 and 825 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BlanchardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoscowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blanchardville’s history

What year was Blanchardville founded?

In 1840, according to Wikidata. Blanchardville’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 169 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.