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History · Orin

Orin’s post office opened in 1895

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1949 on.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Orin began

When was Orin founded?

1895

The Orin post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Orin Junction (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 52131 years
Founding year: the first Orin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Orin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTeepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Orin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Orin.

Read it all →

The community was named for Orin Hughitt, the uncle of a railroad official. A post office was established at the Orin Junction in 1891. The name was changed to Orin in 1895, and the post office closed in about 1962.

Orin was the final place outlaw Doc Middleton owned and operated a saloon, before dying in the local jail in 1913.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Orin, 1891 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Orin Junction post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Orin Junction post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Orin post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1962Post officeThe Orin post office closes
  8. 1980In the archiveTeepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin Junction, Wyoming
By decade

Orin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Teepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin Junction, Wyoming1980Teepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin Junction, Wyom…
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
Today16 recent
Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 062017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 052017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 042017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 032017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 022017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 012017Total solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - …Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 052017Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming …Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 042017Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming …Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 032017Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming …Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 022017Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming …Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 012017Partial solar eclipse 2017 at Orin Junction, Wyoming …360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 062017360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming…360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 052017360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming…360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 042017360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming…360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 022017360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming…360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming - 012017360-degree eclipse twilight at Orin Junction, Wyoming…
On the map

Orin on the map, 1949 to 1981

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

Orin on the 1949 USGS mapOrin on the 1950 USGS mapOrin on the 1981 USGS map1949Orin 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 Orin.

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.

Teepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin Junction, Wyoming
Retake this viewTeepee fireworks stand, Route 20, Orin Junction, Wyoming, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Orin’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Orin

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

See all →
Harriet HagemanUnited States Representative from Wyoming since… · b. 1962
David BriggsAmerican record producer · b. 1944
J
Jim AndersonAmerican politician · b. 1943
R
Rory CrossAmerican rancher · b. 1936
S
Scott SalesAmerican politician · b. 1960
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Orin had its own post office from 1895 to 1962. Another post office, Orin Junction, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orin Junction
1891–1895
Orin
1895–1962
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Orin Junction
Gone or out of use
Orin Junction Pitmine

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

Questions about Orin’s history

What year was Orin founded?

The Orin post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.