Most of Bottineau was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Main, North Dakota School of Forestry, Old. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1855 on.
Founding year: the first Bottineau post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bottineau’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bottineau is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bottineau’s overall grade.
North Dakota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical North Dakota town has 2.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bottineau’s 4.5 sits near the middle of its state (51% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Bottineau’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bottineau was founded in 1883 as Oak Creek as a customs station and an overnight stagecoach stop. The town name was changed to Bottineau in 1884 in honor of Pierre Bottineau (c. 1814–1895), a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper, who became a successful land speculator.
The town was originally located about 1½ miles (2½ km) north of its current location. The entire town was moved south in 1887 to where the Great Northern Railway was installing new tracks.
The widest tornado on record in North Dakota, at 1.14 miles wide, dropped near Bottineau in 1986. It destroyed a mobile home but did not harm the pregnant woman who was inside.
The Bottineau post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Bottineau rank for history?
Bottineau is more historic than 42% 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.
What is on the National Register in Bottineau?
One place: the Main, North Dakota School of Forestry, Old (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Bottineau?
10% of Bottineau’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2008
2008
2008
2008
2008
