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B−History
History · Glenrock

Glenrock’s post office opened in 1887, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Hotel Higgins and the Commerce Block. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1920.

1887first post office
2on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Glenrock began

When was Glenrock founded?

1887

The Glenrock post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,003 in 19202020 census: 2,420139 years

How historic is Glenrock?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Glenrock’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenrock is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glenrock’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.1% of homes (±7.1) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 6.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
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 Glenrock’s 6.8 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Glenrock’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 Glenrock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glenrock’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Glenrock.

Read it all →

Glenrock, known as Deer Creek Station, had its beginning as a mail and stage station along the Oregon Trail. The station served as a stopping point along the trail and was a vital supply point for thousands of emigrants as they traveled westward. A significant number of industries were established after 1889 and expanded the growth and economy of many communities like Glenrock in central Wyoming.

ChaptersHistorical SitesGlenrock train wreck

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Glenrock, 1887 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Glenrock post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Born hereKayo Lam is born here
  5. 1917BuiltCommerce Block is built
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Glenrock, decade by decade

Today19 recent
Pole bending Wyoming 012017Pole bending Wyoming 01A lone pumpjack, or above-ground drive for an undergound oil pump, in a remote section of Converse County, Wyoming, nea…2015A lone pumpjack, or above-ground drive for an undergo…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The coal-fired Dave Johnston Power Plant outside Glenrock, Wyoming2015The coal-fired Dave Johnston Power Plant outside Glen…The Higgins Hotel, which opened in 19162015The Higgins Hotel, which opened in 1916The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave the town of Glenrock, Wyoming, its name2015The Rock in the Glen, the natural feature that gave t…The Higgins Hotel, which opened in 1916 in2015The Higgins Hotel, which opened in 1916 inCommerce Block commercial building in2012Commerce Block commercial building inI-25SBExit165WY2008I-25SBExit165WYA-27. The Rock in the Glen (U.S.-2026, Glenrock) on the California, Mormon Pioneer, Oregon, and Pony Express National H…2006A-27. The Rock in the Glen (U.S.-2026, Glenrock) on t…A-25. Deer Creek CrossingGlenrock Town Park (U.S.-20 & Town Park Road, Glenrock) on the California, Mormon Pioneer, Ore…2006A-25. Deer Creek CrossingGlenrock Town Park (U.S.-20 …A-24. Oregon Trail Park (E. Oregon Trail & Pioneer Place, Glenrock, WY) on the California, Mormon Pioneer, and Oregon N…2006A-24. Oregon Trail Park (E. Oregon Trail & Pioneer Pl…WYMap-doton-Glenrock2004WYMap-doton-Glenrock
On the map

Glenrock on the map, 1954 to 1981

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

Glenrock on the 1954 USGS mapGlenrock on the 1981 USGS map1954Torrington sheet · 1:250,000

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

Every building

Glenrock, building by building, 1918

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Glenrock fire insurance map, 1918, sheet 11918Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Glenrock

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Hotel Higgins
Hotel HigginsCommerce Block, built 1917
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
20th Century Commercial1
Hotel HigginsVictorian
Commerce Block20th Century Commercial · Built 1917

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

People over time

Glenrock, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,736

Between 810 and 2,736 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Glenrock’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Fairview MinemineGlenrock Gravel PitmineGlenrock Number One MinemineGlenrock Number Two Minemine
1cemetery inside Glenrock
Glenrock

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

Questions about Glenrock’s history

What year was Glenrock founded?

The Glenrock post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glenrock rank for history?

Glenrock is more historic than 51% 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 Glenrock?

Two places: the Hotel Higgins (listed 1983) and the Commerce Block (2005).

How old are the homes in Glenrock?

17% of Glenrock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (7), 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), 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.