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History · Shoshoni

Shoshoni’s post office opened in 1905, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Shoshoni was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank of Shoshoni. Its Register listing is the King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank of Shoshoni. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1910.

1905first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Shoshoni began

When was Shoshoni founded?

1905

The Shoshoni post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 604 in 19102020 census: 471121 years
Founding year: the first Shoshoni post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Shoshoni’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 Shoshoni are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1940, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shoshoni’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Shoshoni, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020604 in 1910Low: 226

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1940, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Shoshoni came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shoshoni.

Read it all →

The town is named for the Shoshone Indian tribe, most of whom live on the nearby Wind River Indian Reservation. Established as a railroad and mining town, Shoshoni lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 20 and 26, which together were formerly known as the "Yellowstone Highway". Shoshoni has a dramatic increase in visitors in the summer, when roads to Yellowstone National Park are open. Visitors also stop to camp and fish at nearby Boysen Reservoir and the surrounding Boysen State Park. Anglers participate in fishing derbies at the reservoir, including an ice fishing derby in the winter.

Ranching is, and has been for decades, the major agricultural endeavor in the nearby area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shoshoni, 1905 to 1951

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Shoshoni post office opens
  3. 1907Born hereIsabel Jewell is born here
  4. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 891
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shoshoni, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Community Presbyterian Church2016Community Presbyterian ChurchDistressed downtown block2016Distressed downtown blockLong-shuttered building2016Long-shuttered buildingFaded mural2016Faded muralSign for the abandoned Shoshoni Motel2016Sign for the abandoned Shoshoni MotelUS Highway 20 - Wyoming2014US Highway 20 - WyomingUS Highway 20 - Wyoming2014US Highway 20 - WyomingUS Highway 20 - Wyoming2014US Highway 20 - WyomingUS Highway 20 - Wyoming2014US Highway 20 - WyomingUS Highway 20 - Wyoming2014US Highway 20 - WyomingThe Honest Eruption2012The Honest Eruption
On the map

Shoshoni on the map in 1951

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shoshoni.

Shoshoni on the 1951 USGS map1951Shoshoni 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 Shoshoni.

Every building

Shoshoni, building by building, 1918

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.

Shoshoni fire insurance map, 1918, sheet 21918Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Shoshoni

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
1994
King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank o…
King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank of Shoshoni
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

20th Century Vernacular1
King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank of Shoshoni20th Century Vernacular

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

Questions about Shoshoni’s history

What year was Shoshoni founded?

The Shoshoni post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Shoshoni?

One place: the King, C. H., Company, and First National Bank of Shoshoni (listed 1994).

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 (6), the Library of Congress (5), 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.