The story
Read it all →How Lovell came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lovell.
Built in 1925, the EJZ Bridge over Shoshone River is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Lovell
Lovell’s post office opened in 1888, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Hyart Theater, The. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1910.
1888first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Quick answers
How Lovell began
When was Lovell founded?
1888
The Lovell post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 699 in 19102020 census: 2,243138 years
How historic is Lovell?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lovell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lovell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lovell is more historic than 60% 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 Lovell’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194030.4% of homes (±6.7) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
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 Lovell’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (39% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.7 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 Lovell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lovell’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lovell’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Lovell, 1888 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1888Post officeThe Lovell post office opens
- 20th century
- 1923
In the archiveThrough the leaves, 1923 - 1940
Born hereDon G. Despain is born here - 1944Born hereRalph Watts is born here
- 1954Born hereElaine Harvey is born here
- 1959Born hereR. Ray Peterson is born here
- 1966
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Lovell, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1920s1 item
1930s–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
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016On the map
Lovell on the map in 1966
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lovell.
1966Lovell sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lovell.
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.
Retake this viewThrough the leaves, 1923, 1923
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lovell’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Lovell
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Hyart Theater, The
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Lovell, census by census
Between 699 and 2,508 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lovell’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →5 famous people were born in Lovell
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Lovell’s post office has been open since 1888.
Gone or out of use
Clark Pit MinemineGypsum Quarry Number Seven MinemineNichols Sand and Gravel PitmineYellowtail Minemine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lovell’s history
What year was Lovell founded?
The Lovell post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lovell rank for history?
Lovell is more historic than 60% 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 Lovell?
One place: the Hyart Theater, The (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Lovell?
30% of Lovell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1957.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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) 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.