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B−History
History · Cavalier

Cavalier dates to 1875, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Pembina County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1900.

1875founded
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cavalier’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cavalier began

When was Cavalier founded?

1875

Cavalier dates its founding to 1875 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 671 in 19002020 census: 1,246151 years

How historic is Cavalier?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cavalier’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cavalier is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cavalier’s overall grade.
Founding era1875, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±5.1) · typical ND town 7.2% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 14.0 per 10,000 residents · typical ND town 2.8 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

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 Cavalier’s 14.0 sits above most of its state (66% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1875.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cavalier’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1907 to 1927, drew every building in Cavalier.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cavalier’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPembina County Courthouse: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Cavalier, building by building, 1907–1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Cavalier fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Cavalier came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cavalier.

Read it all →

Cavalier was laid out in 1875 on open land. The city was named for Charles Cavileer, an early settler in Pembina County (a recording error accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected). A post office has been in operation at Cavalier since 1877. Cavalier was incorporated in 1902.

In the early 1970s, the city of Cavalier's population quadrupled in size due to the U.S.' anti-ballistic missile program. This was in preparation of a nuclear attack on the U.S. during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cavalier, 1875 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875
    FoundingCavalier is established
  3. 1877Post officeThe Cavalier post office opens
  4. 1898Born hereJohn Kobs is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1912In the archivePembina County Courthouse
  7. 1935Born hereRodney Scott Webb is born here
  8. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1964Born hereBrent Goulet is born here
  10. 1981Born hereRob Hunt is born here
By decade

Cavalier, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Pembina County Courthousec. 1912Pembina County Courthouse
1920s–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
Today17 recent
Cavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota2007Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier, North Dakota (2007)2007Cavalier, North Dakota (2007)Wayne's V&S Variety Stores2001Wayne's V&S Variety StoresSporting Goods2001Sporting GoodsNew Movie2001New MovieDowntown2001DowntownCavalier, North Dakota2001Cavalier, North DakotaCavalier Theater2001Cavalier Theater
On the map

Cavalier on the map, 1939 to 1964

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

Cavalier on the 1939 USGS mapCavalier on the 1941 USGS mapCavalier on the 1964 USGS map1939Cavalier 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 Cavalier.

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.

Pembina County Courthouse
Retake this viewPembina County Courthouse, c. 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cavalier

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Pembina County Courthouse
Pembina County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts Neo Classicism1
Pembina County CourthouseBeaux Arts Neo Classicism

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

People over time

Cavalier, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,537

Between 652 and 1,537 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Cavalier

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Brent GouletAmerican soccer player and coach · b. 1964
J
John KobsAmerican sports coach · b. 1898
R
Rob HuntPlayer of American football · b. 1981
R
Rodney Scott WebbUnited States federal judge · b. 1935
W
Wayne TrottierAmerican politician
G
Gordon R. FischerAmerican football, basketball, and track coach · b. 1895

Questions about Cavalier’s history

What year was Cavalier founded?

In 1875, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cavalier’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1900 counted 671 people here.

How does Cavalier rank for history?

Cavalier is more historic than 54% 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 Cavalier?

One place: the Pembina County Courthouse (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Cavalier?

14% of Cavalier’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1973.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.