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History · Dickey

Dickey’s post office opened in 1884, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1910.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Dickey began

When was Dickey founded?

1884

The Dickey post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1885. Another post office, Saratoga (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 187 in 19102020 census: 42142 years
Founding year: the first Dickey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1885.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dickey’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 Dickey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18973 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1986. Watch Dickey change.Old housesHalf of Dickey’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dickey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dickey’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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On the map

Dickey on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Dickey on the 1897 USGS mapDickey on the 1952 USGS mapDickey on the 1986 USGS map1897Eckelson sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Dickey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dickey.

Read it all →

Dickey was founded in 1885. George H. Dickey is the town's namesake.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dickey, 1881 to 1897

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Saratoga post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Saratoga post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Dickey post office opens
  5. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dickey, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Post office in Dickey, North Dakota 6-8-20082008Post office in Dickey, North Dakota 6-8-2008NDMap-doton-Dickey2004NDMap-doton-Dickey
People over time

Dickey, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 203

Between 42 and 203 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Dickey’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Saratoga, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saratoga
1881–1884
Dickey
1884–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Dickey Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Dickey
Dickey

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Dickey’s history

What year was Dickey founded?

The Dickey post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.

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 (2), 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.