Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Caledonia

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Caledonia

Caledonia’s post office opened in 1875, and 85% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1918 on.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
85%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Caledonia began

When was Caledonia founded?

1875

The Caledonia post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 37151 years
Founding year: the first Caledonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Caledonia’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 Caledonia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Caledonia’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1984. Watch Caledonia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caledonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caledonia’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

How Caledonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caledonia.

Read it all →

First called Goose River, the community was established as a post for the Hudson's Bay Company steamships which operated on the Red River of the North. Caledonia became an early boom town in the Red River Valley and also became a post for a stagecoach line which lead north to Fort Garry — now called Winnipeg. Upon the creation of Traill County in 1875, Caledonia was designated as the county seat. However, in that same year, the Hudson's Bay Company closed their U.S. posts including the one at Caledonia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Caledonia on the map, 1918 to 1984

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

Caledonia on the 1918 USGS mapCaledonia on the 1964 USGS mapCaledonia on the 1984 USGS map1918Hendrum 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 Caledonia.

By decade

Caledonia, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Caledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North DakotaCaledonia, North Dakota2007Caledonia, North Dakota
On the National Register

1 historic place in Caledonia

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Caledonia

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

See all →
C
Clyfford StillAmerican artist · b. 1904
L
Lila Morris O'NealeAmerican cultural anthropologist · b. 1886
B
Brent VigenAmerican football coach · b. 1975
C
Carol A. NiemeierAmerican politician · b. 1934
G
George R. WickerAmerican politician · b. 1877

Questions about Caledonia’s history

What year was Caledonia founded?

The Caledonia post office opened in 1875, 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 (12), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.