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–Not graded
History · Alexander

Alexander’s post office opened in 1905, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1930.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Alexander began

When was Alexander founded?

1905

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

First census: 386 in 19302020 census: 319121 years
Founding year: the first Alexander post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alexander’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 Alexander are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Alexander’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alexander’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alexander’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
The story

How Alexander came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alexander.

Read it all →

Alexander was founded on July 24, 1905 and is named after early North Dakota politician Alexander McKenzie. Alexander was incorporated as a village on May 18, 1914 and as a city on July 1, 1967.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alexander, 1905 to 1972

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Alexander post office opens
  3. 1914Born hereArthur A. Link is born here
  4. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Alexander, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Vintage farm equipment displayed outside the Lewis & Clark Trail Museum2021Vintage farm equipment displayed outside the Lewis & …Alexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota post office2008Alexander, North Dakota post officeAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota2008Alexander, North DakotaAlexander, North Dakota (2008)2008Alexander, North Dakota (2008)NDMap-doton-Alexander2004NDMap-doton-Alexander
On the map

Alexander on the map, 1972 to 1997

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

Alexander on the 1972 USGS mapAlexander on the 1997 USGS map1972Alexander 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 Alexander.

People over time

Alexander, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 415

Between 208 and 415 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Alex TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alexander’s history

What year was Alexander founded?

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

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 (16), the Library of Congress (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) 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.