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Johnson Street HD NRHP 84003701 Sheridan County, WYPhoto: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Big Horn

Big Horn’s post office opened in 1879, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Big Horn was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 2000.

1879first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Big Horn began

When was Big Horn founded?

1879

The Big Horn post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 198 in 20002020 census: 457147 years
Founding year: the first Big Horn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Big Horn’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Horn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Horn’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 Big Horn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Big Horn.

Read it all →

Big Horn is along the valley of Little Goose Creek. From 1866 to 1868, the military cutoff route of the Bozeman Trail crossed Little Goose Creek, where Big Horn was later located. The trail was used by travelers going to gold fields in Montana, but was plagued by Lakota attacks under Red Cloud. Fort Phil Kearny was established on Piney Creek, but continued harassment by the Lakota led to its abandonment and the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Powder River Country under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Big Horn, 1809 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809In the archivePart of George Drouillard's map of the upper Big Horn Basin
  3. 1876In the archiveMap of the Route of the Big Horn Expedition
  4. 1879Post officeThe Big Horn post office opens
  5. 1896Born hereElsa Spear Byron is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1919Born hereVictor Garber is born here
  8. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Big Horn, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1800s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1800s1 item
Part of George Drouillard's map of the upper Big Horn Basin1809Part of George Drouillard's map of the upper Big Horn…Map
1870s1 item
Map of the Route of the Big Horn Expedition1876Map of the Route of the Big Horn ExpeditionMap
Today2 recent
Johnson Street HD NRHP 84003701 Sheridan County, WY2021Johnson Street HD NRHP 84003701 Sheridan County, WYWYMap-doton-BigHorn2004WYMap-doton-BigHorn
On the map

Big Horn on the map, 1967 to 1977

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

Big Horn on the 1967 USGS mapBig Horn on the 1977 USGS map1967Big Horn 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 Big Horn.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Big Horn

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Odd Fellows Hall
Odd Fellows HallJohnson Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Board and Batten1
False Front Frame1
Odd Fellows HallBuilding
All 2 listings
Johnson Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

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

People over time

Big Horn, census by census

010020030040050020002020Peak: 490

Between 198 and 490 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Big Horn

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

See all →
V
Victor GarberAmerican politician · b. 1919
E
Elsa Spear ByronAmerican photographer · b. 1896
F
Frank GaleyAmerican academic
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Powder HornIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Big Horn’s history

What year was Big Horn founded?

The Big Horn post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Big Horn?

Two places: the Odd Fellows Hall (listed 1980) and the Johnson Street Historic District (1984).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (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.