Most of Wright was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1990.
The Wright post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wrighter (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,236 in 19902020 census: 1,644120 years
How historic is Wright?
D−
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wright post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wright’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wright is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wright’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 Wright’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Wright’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ten thousand years ago, the first people came to the high plains to hunt buffalo and antelope. In more recent times, the Sioux and Crow claimed this area as their hunting grounds. In the 1880s, ranchers came to graze longhorn cattle and sheep on the open range. They were followed by homesteaders lured by the promise of free land.
Official settlement began in the area in the early 1900s but boomed in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the United States.
Between 1,236 and 1,807 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wright’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Wright’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Wrighter, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wrighter
1887–1889
Wright
1906–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Meadowlark Number Six Pitmine
1cemetery inside Wright
Wright
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Wright’s history
What year was Wright founded?
The Wright post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wright rank for history?
Wright is among the newest 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.
How old are the homes in Wright?
0.0% of Wright’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 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 (25), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
Date?
Date?
Date?
2022
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2009