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History · Cooperstown

Cooperstown’s post office opened in 1882, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Griggs County Courthouse and the Northern Lights Masonic Lodge. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cooperstown began

When was Cooperstown founded?

1882

The Cooperstown post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 368 in 18902020 census: 983144 years
Founding year: the first Cooperstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cooperstown’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,485 in 1970; 983 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1914, drew every building in Cooperstown.Old housesHalf of Cooperstown’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cooperstown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cooperstown, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,485

Peaked at 1,485 in 1970; 983 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Every building

Cooperstown, building by building, 1893–1914

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.

Cooperstown fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 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 Cooperstown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cooperstown.

Read it all →

The city is named for R. C. Cooper, a bonanza farmer who built the first wood-frame house in the area in 1880. Prior to Cooper's arrival, most settlers or the era lived in sod houses, covered wagons, tents, or log cabins (especially near the Sheyenne River where trees were numerous). Cooperstown was laid out on October 26, 1882, soon before the railroad was extended to that point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cooperstown, 1882 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Cooperstown post office opens
  3. 1892In the archiveGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
  4. 1896Born hereErling Platou is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Born hereEinar Maynard Gunderson is born here
  7. 1908Born hereJohn Holmes Dingle is born here
  8. 1916Born hereFloyd Stromme is born here
  9. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,485
  10. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cooperstown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)c. 1892Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
1900s–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
Today11 recent
Cooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota (2008)2008Cooperstown, North Dakota (2008)Cooperstown2008Cooperstown
On the map

Cooperstown on the map in 1985

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

Cooperstown on the 1985 USGS map1985Cooperstown sheet · 1:100,000

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

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.

Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
Retake this viewGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892), c. 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Cooperstown

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Griggs County Courthouse
Griggs County CourthouseNorthern Lights Masonic Lodge
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Griggs County CourthouseGothic
Northern Lights Masonic LodgeBungalow/Craftsman

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Cooperstown

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

See all →
Einar Maynard GundersonCanadian politician · b. 1900
J
John Holmes DingleAmerican physician · b. 1908
E
Erling PlatouAmerican basketball player and pediatrician · b. 1896
Floyd StrommeAmerican baseball player · b. 1916
Robert T. HardenAmerican politician · b. 1960
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cooperstown Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cooperstown’s history

What year was Cooperstown founded?

The Cooperstown post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cooperstown?

Two places: the Griggs County Courthouse (listed 1977) and the Northern Lights Masonic Lodge (1987).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.