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C+History
History · Guernsey

Guernsey’s post office opened in 1900, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Oregon Trail Ruts, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
2on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Guernsey began

When was Guernsey founded?

1900

The Guernsey post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 274 in 19102020 census: 1,130126 years

How historic is Guernsey?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Guernsey’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Guernsey is more historic than 42% 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 Guernsey’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194016.5% of homes (±7.0) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 26.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
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 Guernsey’s 26.5 sits above most of its state (67% 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 (±7.0 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 Guernsey’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 Guernsey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,512 in 1980; 1,130 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Oregon Trail Ruts, a National Historic Landmark.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1903 to 1912, drew every building in Guernsey.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Guernsey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Guernsey’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
People over time

Guernsey, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,512

Peaked at 1,512 in 1980; 1,130 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Guernsey

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Oregon Trail Ruts
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Oregon Trail Ruts
Oregon Trail Ruts★
Sites★ landmark
★ Landmark
Oregon Trail RutsSite
Register CliffSite

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

The story so far

Guernsey, in brief

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

Guernsey is a town in Platte County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 census, Guernsey had a population of 1,130. The town was named for C. A. Guernsey, a cattle rancher.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,147 in 2010, 1,130 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Guernsey, 1900 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Guernsey post office opens
  3. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1966LandmarkOregon Trail Ruts named a National Historic Landmark
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,512
By decade

Guernsey, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Railyard (Guernsey, Wyoming, USA) 12011Railyard (Guernsey, Wyoming, USA) 1Welcome to2010Welcome toSagebrush Motel2010Sagebrush MotelGuernsey, WY, USA2010Guernsey, WY, USAGuernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (4)2010Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (4)Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (3)2010Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (3)Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (2)2010Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (2)Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (1)2010Guernsey, WY, USA - panoramio (1)Entering2010EnteringOregon Trail Wagon Ruts2009Oregon Trail Wagon RutsGuerney P7180349 106 degrees F2007Guerney P7180349 106 degrees FGuerney P71803462007Guerney P7180346
On the map

Guernsey on the map, 1950 to 1990

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

Guernsey on the 1950 USGS mapGuernsey on the 1978 USGS mapGuernsey on the 1990 USGS map1950Guernsey 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 Guernsey.

Every building

Guernsey, building by building, 1903–1912

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 year, then a sheet.

Guernsey fire insurance map, 1903, sheet 11903Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Guernsey

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

See all →
Frank HopkinsAmerican horseman · b. 1865
William Kent KruegerAmerican author and novelist · b. 1950
Michael PunkeAmerican jurist and lawyer · b. 1964
Stephanie A. BurnsAmerican organosilicon chemist and businesswoman · b. 1955
Jim GeringerAmerican politician · b. 1944
Innis P. SwiftUnited States Army general · b. 1882

Questions about Guernsey’s history

What year was Guernsey founded?

The Guernsey post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Guernsey rank for history?

Guernsey is more historic than 42% 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 Guernsey?

Two places: the Oregon Trail Ruts (listed 1966) and the Register Cliff (1970).

How old are the homes in Guernsey?

17% of Guernsey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.