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C+History
History · Ethete

Ethete’s post office opened in 1918, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Ethete was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1850 on.

1918first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ethete’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ethete began

When was Ethete founded?

1918

The Ethete post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,393108 years

How historic is Ethete?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Ethete post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Ethete’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ethete is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ethete’s overall grade.
Founding era1918, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.7% of homes (±4.1) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 14 historic buildings, 106 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder

Wyoming towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wyoming town has 25.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ethete’s 106 sits above most of its state (86% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Ethete’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 Ethete’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ethete’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Ethete, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ethete yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ethete (Arapaho: Koonoutoseii') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,553 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the Wind River Indian Reservation. It grew up around the Episcopal St. Michael's Mission.

Its first post office opened in 1918. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,553 to 1,393 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ethete, 1850 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Wyoming - Fremont County - ED 7-7, ED 7-8…
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918Post officeThe Ethete post office opens
  5. 1960Post officeThe Ethete post office closes
  6. 1982In the archiveBMU Bridge over Wind River
By decade

Ethete, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Wyoming - Fremont County - ED 7-7, ED 7-8, ED 7-9, ED 7-10, ED 7-11, ED…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Wyomi…
1980s1 item
BMU Bridge over Wind River1982BMU Bridge over Wind River
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
Today4 recent
Marines train with M32 - barrel close up2006Marines train with M32 - barrel close upISS013-E-5157 - View of Wyoming2006ISS013-E-5157 - View of WyomingISS013-E-5156 - View of Wyoming2006ISS013-E-5156 - View of WyomingWYMap-doton-Ethete2004WYMap-doton-Ethete
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Wyoming - Fremont County - ED 7-7, ED 7-8, ED 7-9, ED 7-10, ED 7-11, ED…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Wyoming - Fremont County - ED 7-7, ED 7-8, ED 7-9, ED 7-10, ED 7-11, ED…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 14 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
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
St. Michael's Mission
St. Michael's Mission
Districts
St. Michael's MissionDistrict

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ethete

Nobody well known was born in Ethete itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ashlynn YennieAmerican actress · b. 1985
Lance DealAmerican hammer thrower · b. 1961
Nate MarquardtAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1979
G
Guy TrosperAmerican screenwriter · b. 1911
Chance PhelpsUnited States Marine · b. 1984
B
Bob NicholasWyoming state representative · b. 1957
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Ethete had its own post office from 1918 to 1960.

Ethete
1918–1960
19101970today
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ethete
Saint Michael MissionShakespareWallowing BullWhite PlumeYellow Calf

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Ethete’s history

What year was Ethete founded?

The Ethete post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ethete rank for history?

Ethete is more historic than 37% 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 Ethete?

One place: the St. Michael's Mission (listed 1971).

How old are the homes in Ethete?

6% of Ethete’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.