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History · Calvin

Calvin’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Calvin was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1920.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Calvin began

When was Calvin founded?

1902

The Calvin post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905.

First census: 350 in 19202020 census: 15124 years
Founding year: the first Calvin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.

What stands out about Calvin’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 Calvin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Calvin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Calvin, in brief

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

Calvin is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 13 in 2024. Likely the most historic structure left in town, the Calvin AF & AM Corinthian Masonic Lodge Number 78, was burned and razed in May 2014, after the upper floor had collapsed sometime between 2010 and 2012.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 20 to 15 (-25%).

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

By decade

Calvin, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Calvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota 7-19-20092009Calvin, North Dakota 7-19-2009Calvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North DakotaCalvin, North Dakota2009Calvin, North Dakota
On the map

Calvin on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Calvin on the 1970 USGS mapCalvin on the 1985 USGS map1970Calvin 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 Calvin.

People over time

Calvin, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 350

Between 15 and 350 people in every census since 1920.

9 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Calvin’s history

What year was Calvin founded?

The Calvin post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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.