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History · Shell

Shell’s post office opened in 1888, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the EJE Bridge over Shell Creek and the Shell Community Hall. Below: maps from 1960 on.

1888first post office
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Shell began

When was Shell founded?

1888

The Shell post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 74138 years
Founding year: the first Shell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Shell’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Shell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Shell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Shell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Shell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 83 at the 2010 Census. The community is named for the abundance of fossil shells located in the area. Nearby exposed formations such as the Cloverly Formation and the Morrison Formation have yielded numerous fossils of dinosaurs and other animals. Located to the west of the town is the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, a rare collection of dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic period. Shell is home to the Iowa State University geology field station.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 83 to 74 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Shell, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Shell Wyoming sign 6-23-20092009Shell Wyoming sign 6-23-2009Old Shell Lodge WY 20072007Old Shell Lodge WY 2007Lower Shell School House, Big Horn County, Wyoming2006Lower Shell School House, Big Horn County, Wyoming
On the map

Shell on the map, 1960 to 1993

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

Shell on the 1960 USGS mapShell on the 1993 USGS map1960Shell 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 Shell.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Shell

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
EJE Bridge over Shell Creek
EJE Bridge over Shell CreekShell Community Hall
BuildingsStructures
EJE Bridge over Shell CreekStructure
All 2 listings
Shell Community HallBuilding · listed 2022

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Shell’s post office has been open since 1888.

Gone or out of use
Big Hill Group Minemine

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

Questions about Shell’s history

What year was Shell founded?

The Shell post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Shell?

Two places: the EJE Bridge over Shell Creek (listed 1985) and the Shell Community Hall (2022).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.