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–Not graded
History · Bisbee

Bisbee dates to 1888, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1985 on, and the census since 1910.

1888founded
0on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bisbee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bisbee began

When was Bisbee founded?

1888

Bisbee dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 444 in 19102020 census: 110138 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bisbee’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bisbee’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 531 in 1930; 110 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bisbee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packa…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bisbee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bisbee.

Read it all →

The town was named after Colonel Andrew Bisbee, a native of Peru, Maine. Bisbee, a veteran of the Civil War who came to Towner County in 1885. In 1890 he was chosen by the county commissioners of Towner County to solicit drought relief and was elected to a term in the North Dakota Senate. Col. Bisbee donated a portion of the townsite of Bisbee, as well donating land for the railroads to pass through the village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Bisbee, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 531

Peaked at 531 in 1930; 110 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Bisbee, 1888 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingBisbee is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Hanson post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Hanson post office closes
  5. 1890Post officeThe Bisbee post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1921In the archiveWW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packaging April 1921
  8. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 531
  9. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bisbee, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
WW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packaging April 19211921WW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packaging April 1921
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Bisbee, North Dakota 7-18-20092009Bisbee, North Dakota 7-18-2009
On the map

Bisbee on the map in 1985

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

Bisbee on the 1985 USGS map1985Rock Lake sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bisbee.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

WW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packaging April 1921
Retake this viewWW I Victory Medal US Army Postal Packaging April 1921, 1921

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bisbee’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bisbee’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Hanson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hanson
1888–1890
Bisbee
1890–today
18801950today

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.

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

Questions about Bisbee’s history

What year was Bisbee founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bisbee’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1910 counted 444 people here.

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 (2), 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.