More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #24 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it
Most of Mills was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Mills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Mills’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mills is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #24 of 28 in Wyoming. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mills’ 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 Mills’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Mills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mills is a city in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. It is part of the Casper, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,034 at the 2020 census, up from 3,461 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1921. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,461 to 4,034 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Mills in 1923
Passages that mention Mills, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Natrona county, Wyoming, 1888-19221923 · page 237Read the page →
Read the text
Then a petition for the incorporation of the town of Mills was filed with the board of county commissioners of Natrona county. Favorable action was taken on the petition, and an election was ordered by the county commissioners, to be held on May 10, 1921. At this election George E. Boyle was the successful condidate against Clyde Riley for mayor, and Fred Hunter, Fred Shackleford, G. W. Lindsay and Michael Kennedy were elected as councilmen. At the first meeting of the new town council, held on May 14, 1921, officers were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Natrona county, Wyoming, 1888-19221923 · page 239Read the page →
Read the text
On May 25, 1921, the Mills Construction company was granted a franchise to supply the town of Mills with electric lights and power but the franchise was turned over to the Natrona Power company of Casper and light and power, both day and night, was furnished the new town at once.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Mills post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mills rank for history?
Mills is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #24 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.
How old are the homes in Mills?
6% of Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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