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History · Arthur

Arthur’s post office opened in 1881, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1930.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Arthur began

When was Arthur founded?

1881

The Arthur post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Malette (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 322 in 19302020 census: 328145 years
Founding year: the first Arthur post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Arthur’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 Arthur are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 445 in 1980; 328 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arthur’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arthur’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

Arthur, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 445

Peaked at 445 in 1980; 328 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Arthur came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arthur.

Read it all →

Arthur was founded in 1881, the town was called Rosedale after the sister of a prominent settler, but was renamed Arthur in honor of Chester A. Arthur.

The post office was established on October 1, 1881, and the town was platted in 1882 by Samuel B. Johnson. Arthur was incorporated as a village on June 15, 1921 and as a city on July 1, 1967.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arthur, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Malette post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Malette post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Arthur post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1956Born hereDoug Burgum is born here
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 445
By decade

Arthur, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Arthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota 22003Arthur, North Dakota 2Arthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North DakotaArthur, North Dakota2003Arthur, North Dakota
On the map

Arthur on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Arthur on the 1967 USGS mapArthur on the 1985 USGS map1967Arthur 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 Arthur.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Arthur’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Malette, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Malette
1880–1881
Arthur
1881–today
18801950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arthur
ArthurGood Samaritan

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

Questions about Arthur’s history

What year was Arthur founded?

The Arthur post office opened in 1881, 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 (13), 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.