Lander’s post office opened in 1875, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #13 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 16 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Lander post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lander’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lander is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #13 of 28 in Wyoming. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lander’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 Lander’s 28.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1890 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 Lander’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Lander was previously known as Pushroot, Old Camp Brown and Fort Augur. Its present name was chosen in 1875 in reference to General Frederick W. Lander, a transcontinental explorer who surveyed the Oregon Trail's Lander Cutoff.
In 1868, the boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation were officially established by the Fort Bridger Treaty, setting its southern border along the Sweetwater River. This marked the beginning of increased conflicts between the Shoshone tribe and white settlers, who were illegally encroaching on reservation lands. Additionally, it became evident to the U.S. Government that much of the land east of the Wind River Range on the reservation was considered desirable.
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.
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 Lander post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1890.
How does Lander rank for history?
Lander is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #13 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 Lander?
Three places: the Lander Downtown Historic District (listed 1987), the US Post Office and Courthouse-Lander Main (1987) and the Jackson Park Town Site Addition Brick Row (2003).
How old are the homes in Lander?
14% of Lander’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 1973.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), 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.
1914
1914
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1917
