Most of Ranchester was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listing is the Connor Battlefield. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1941 on.
Founding year: the first Ranchester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ranchester’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ranchester is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ranchester’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 Ranchester’s 7.8 sits near the middle of its state (46% 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 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 Ranchester’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad came through the area in 1894. The townsite was first used when a railroad tie mill was created. The timber came from the Bighorn Mountains and a 35-mile long log flume was constructed to float the lumber to the mill. At least seven men died during the construction of the flume, four to explosion and three to rock slides. The railroad cancelled its contract for ties in 1912.
The town was named by S.H. Hardin who owned the O-4 Bar Ranch. The Englishman combined "ranch" with "chester" due to many towns in England ending that way. It was incorporated in 1911. Governor Joseph M. Carey attended a picnic celebrating the new town. The picnic included racing, bucking contests, and contests on the river.
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 Ranchester post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ranchester rank for history?
Ranchester is more historic than 34% 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 Ranchester?
One place: the Connor Battlefield (listed 1971).
How old are the homes in Ranchester?
6% of Ranchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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