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History · Cokeville

Cokeville dates to 1869, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cokeville began

When was Cokeville founded?

1869

Cokeville dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 62 in 18802020 census: 502157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cokeville’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 Cokeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cokeville’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cokeville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Cokeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cokeville.

Read it all →

The Shoshone Indians were the first inhabitants of the area. The first Euro-American settler, Tilford Kutch, arrived in 1869. In 1873, he opened a trading post and ran a ferry across Smiths Fork. After the arrival of the railroad in 1882, the town grew, and was incorporated in 1910.

The town was named for the coal found in the area. Following the railroad, sheep ranching became more popular, reaching its peak in 1918, when Cokeville was informally called the "Sheep Capital of the World".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cokeville, 1869 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingCokeville is established
  3. 1877Post officeThe Cokeville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cokeville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
The entry into2018The entry intoWYMap-doton-Cokeville2004WYMap-doton-Cokeville
On the map

Cokeville on the map, 1942 to 1982

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

Cokeville on the 1942 USGS mapCokeville on the 1967 USGS mapCokeville on the 1982 USGS map1942Cokeville sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Cokeville, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 545

Between 62 and 545 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Cokeville’s history

What year was Cokeville founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Cokeville’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1880 counted 62 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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, 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.