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History · Carson

Carson’s post office opened in 1902, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Carson Roller Mill. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1980 on, and the census since 1920.

1902first post office
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carson began

When was Carson founded?

1902

The Carson post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1910.

First census: 277 in 19202020 census: 254124 years
Founding year: the first Carson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1910.The full story ↓

What stands out about Carson’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 501 in 1960; 254 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Carson’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · People over time

Carson, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 501

Peaked at 501 in 1960; 254 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Carson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carson.

Read it all →

Carson was laid out in 1910 when the Northern Pacific Railway was extended to that point. The city's name is a portmanteau of the surnames of two settlers: Frank Carter and Simon Pederson.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carson, 1902 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Carson post office opens
  3. 1936In the archiveCattle in cornfield ruined by drought and grasshoppers. Near Carson, North Dakota
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 501
  5. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Carson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Cattle in cornfield ruined by drought and grasshoppers. Near Carson, North Dakota1936Cattle in cornfield ruined by drought and grasshopper…Mike Sullinger, who has a farm near Carson, North Dakota, looking for rain1936Mike Sullinger, who has a farm near Carson, North Dak…Cattle turned loose in corn field already ruined by grasshoppers. Near Carson, North Dakota1936Cattle turned loose in corn field already ruined by g…The only feed available for many cattle are the dried and grasshopper-chewed cornstalks. Near Carson, North Dakota1936The only feed available for many cattle are the dried…Horses trying to get some water out of the sun-baked trough on Mike Bullinger's farm near Carson, North Dakota1936Horses trying to get some water out of the sun-baked …
1940s–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
Today3 recent
Carson, North Dakota 6-12-20092009Carson, North Dakota 6-12-2009Carson Roller Mill2009Carson Roller MillNDMap-doton-Carson2004NDMap-doton-Carson
On the map

Carson on the map in 1980

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

Carson on the 1980 USGS map1980Carson 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 Carson.

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.

Cattle in cornfield ruined by drought and grasshoppers. Near Carson, North Dakota
Retake this viewCattle in cornfield ruined by drought and grasshoppers. Near Carson, North Dakota, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Carson

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
first listed
1980
Carson Roller Mill
Carson Roller Mill
Buildings
Carson Roller MillBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Carson

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

See all →
Hilaire du BerrierAmerican-French aviator · b. 1906
K
Kirsten BaeslerPolitician
D
Donald SchaibleMember of North Dakota State Senate · b. 1957
K
Ken BeckerAmerican sports coach · b. 1932
Help out

Finish Carson’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCattle in cornfield ruined by drought a…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Carson’s history

What year was Carson founded?

The Carson post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1910.

What is on the National Register in Carson?

One place: the Carson Roller Mill (listed 1980).

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 (3), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.