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History · Butte

Butte dates to 1906, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1910.

1906founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Butte began

When was Butte founded?

1906

Butte dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 320 in 19102020 census: 70120 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1890.

What stands out about Butte’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 Butte are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Butte’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Butte’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Butte’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 so far

Butte, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Butte yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Butte is a city in McLean County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 70 at the 2020 census. Butte was founded in 1906.

Butte was established in 1906. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 68 to 70 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Butte, 1890 to 1929

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Dogden post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906
    FoundingButte is established
  5. 1927Post officeThe Dogden post office closes
  6. 1927Post officeThe Butte post office opens
  7. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Butte, decade by decade

Today2 recent
CO-OP Butte, North Dakota 10-17-20082008CO-OP Butte, North Dakota 10-17-2008NDMap-doton-Butte2004NDMap-doton-Butte
On the map

Butte on the map, 1929 to 1958

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

Butte on the 1929 USGS mapButte on the 1958 USGS map1929Balfour sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

Butte, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 320

Between 68 and 320 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Butte’s post office has been open since 1927. Another post office, Dogden, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dogden
1890–1927
Butte
1927–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Butte’s history

What year was Butte founded?

In 1906, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Butte’s post office opened in 1890, and the census of 1910 counted 320 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), 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.