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C−History
History · Powell

Powell’s post office opened in 1908, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #21 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it

Most of Powell was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the US Post Office-Powell Main. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1920.

1908first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Powell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Powell began

When was Powell founded?

1908

The Powell post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,463 in 19202020 census: 6,419118 years

How historic is Powell?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Powell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Powell is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #21 of 28 in Wyoming. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Powell’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19409.8% of homes (±5.0) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 1.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Wyoming towns of 2,500+ (28)Ahead of 26%

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 Powell’s 1.5 sits below most of its state (33% 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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 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 Powell’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 5-fold.Famous sons and daughtersDarren Dalton, Chris Cooley and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time

Powell, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0001920194019601980200020202,463 in 1920Low: 1,156

Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 5-fold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Powell

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Darren DaltonAmerican actor, screenwriter and film producer · b. 1965
Chris CooleyPlayer of American football · b. 1982
A
Alan SwallowAmerican publisher & academic · b. 1915
D
Dalton BanksAmerican politician
D
David BlevinsAmerican politician · b. 1949
D
Dennis HavigAmerican football player · b. 1949
The story

How Powell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Powell.

Read it all →

Powell was incorporated in 1909. Powell was named for John Wesley Powell, U.S. soldier, geologist and explorer. Powell post office was established January 23, 1908.

In 2013, the area was the subject of a piece of national legislation. The Powell Shooting Range Land Conveyance Act (S. 130; 113th Congress), which was passed by both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, would transfer a piece of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the Powell Recreation District for continued use as a shooting range.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Powell, 1908 to 2020

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe Powell post office opens
  3. 1909In the archivePowell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Project Wyoming Township 55 North Range 99. West
  4. 1915Born hereAlan Swallow is born here
  5. 1916In the archiveCo. C, W.M.G., Powell, Wyo
  6. 1920In the archivePowell, WY- Shoshone Project, Wyoming Supplemental Plat of Powell Townsite Subdivision of…
  7. 1941In the archiveCCC Camp BR-72 Shoshone Project, Powell, Wyoming: Photo of members of Company No. 4821 on…
  8. 1965Born hereDarren Dalton is born here
  9. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1982Born hereChris Cooley is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 6,419
By decade

Powell, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s5 items
Powell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Project Wyoming Township 55 North Range 99. West1909Powell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Project Wyoming …Co. C, W.M.G., Powell, Wyo1916Co. C, W.M.G., Powell, WyoPowell, WY- Shoshone Project, Wyoming Supplemental Plat of Powell Townsite Subdivision of Blocks 37, 52, 56, 104, 105, …1920Powell, WY- Shoshone Project, Wyoming Supplemental Pl…CCC Camp BR-72 Shoshone Project, Powell, Wyoming: Photo of members of Company No. 4821 on parade at Powell, Wyoming1941CCC Camp BR-72 Shoshone Project, Powell, Wyoming: Pho…CCC Camp BR-72 Shoshone Project, Powell, Wyoming, Photo of the American Legion Color Guard and Powell High School... - …1941CCC Camp BR-72 Shoshone Project, Powell, Wyoming, Pho…
1950s–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
Today11 recent
Hansel & Gretel's Lounge2015Hansel & Gretel's LoungePart of large grain elevator complex2015Part of large grain elevator complexPart of large grain elevator complex2015Part of large grain elevator complexUnion Presbyterian Church2015Union Presbyterian ChurchBlock of shops2015Block of shopsPowell, Wyoming summer 2015 032015Powell, Wyoming summer 2015 03Powell, Wyoming summer 2015 022015Powell, Wyoming summer 2015 02Powell, Wyoming summer 2015 012015Powell, Wyoming summer 2015 01Arrowleaf Balsamroot and Bald Ridge2015Arrowleaf Balsamroot and Bald RidgeLooking west to Heart Mountain while in a field of Sunflowers2006Looking west to Heart Mountain while in a field of Su…WYMap-doton-Powell2004WYMap-doton-Powell
On the map

Powell on the map, 1966 to 1980

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

Powell on the 1966 USGS mapPowell on the 1980 USGS map1966Elk Basin SE 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 Powell.

Every building

Powell, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Powell fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Powell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Project Wyoming Township 55 North Range 99. West
Retake this viewPowell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Project Wyoming Township 55 North Range 99. West, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Powell

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
1987
US Post Office-Powell Main
US Post Office-Powell Main
Buildings
US Post Office-Powell MainBuilding

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

Help out

Finish Powell’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPowell, WY: Powell Townsite Shoshone Pr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Powell’s history

What year was Powell founded?

The Powell post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Powell rank for history?

Powell is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #21 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 Powell?

One place: the US Post Office-Powell Main (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in Powell?

10% of Powell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), 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), 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.