Gillette’s post office opened in 1891, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #20 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it
Most of Gillette was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Gillette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gillette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gillette is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #20 of 28 in Wyoming. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gillette’s overall grade.
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 Gillette’s 9.6 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1892 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Gillette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before its founding, Gillette started as Donkey Town, named after Donkey Creek. The settlement moved and was called Rocky Pile, after Rocky Draw.
Gillette was founded in 1891 with the coming of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and incorporated on January 6, 1892, less than two years after Wyoming became a state. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad changed the name of the terminus to Gillette, after Edward Gillette, a surveyor for the company.
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.
The Gillette post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1892.
How does Gillette rank for history?
Gillette is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #20 of 28 in Wyoming. 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 Gillette?
Three places: the Gillette City Hall (1936) (listed 2019), the Gillette Downtown Historic District (2023) and the Campbell County State Experiment Farm, Exhibition Hall (2024).
How old are the homes in Gillette?
2% of Gillette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1907
c. 1907
c. 1907
1907–1915
1907–1915
