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History · Alsen

Alsen’s post office opened in 1905

Most of Alsen was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1930.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Alsen began

When was Alsen founded?

1905

The Alsen post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Storlie (1899), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 358 in 19302020 census: 32121 years
Founding year: the first Alsen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alsen’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 Alsen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alsen’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alsen’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

How Alsen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alsen.

Read it all →

Alsen was founded in 1905. Alsen was incorporated as a village on October 16, 1920 and as a city on July 1, 1967.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alsen, 1899 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Storlie post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Storlie post office closes
  5. 1905Post officeThe Alsen post office opens
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Alsen on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Alsen on the 1970 USGS mapAlsen on the 1985 USGS map1970Alsen 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 Alsen.

People over time

Alsen, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 358

Between 32 and 358 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Alsen

Nobody well known was born in Alsen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Quentin BurdickAmerican politician · b. 1908
E
Eldon Bernard SchusterCatholic bishop · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Alsen’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Storlie, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Storlie
1899–1905
Alsen
1905–today
18901960today
1cemetery inside Alsen
Alsen

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Storlie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBanner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGordon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHenderson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alsen’s history

What year was Alsen founded?

The Alsen 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 →
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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 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.