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C−History
History · Garrison

Garrison’s post office opened in 1903, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Garrison’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Garrison began

When was Garrison founded?

1903

The Garrison post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905.

First census: 406 in 19102020 census: 1,462123 years

How historic is Garrison?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Garrison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Garrison’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garrison is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Garrison’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194018.2% of homes (±6.7) · typical ND town 7.2% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical ND town 2.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
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 Garrison’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1905 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Garrison’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1981. Watch Garrison change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Garrison’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garrison’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 viewGarrison, North Dakota as seen from the…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Garrison on the map, 1922 to 1981

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

Garrison on the 1922 USGS mapGarrison on the 1974 USGS mapGarrison on the 1981 USGS map1922Garrison 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 Garrison.

The story

How Garrison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Garrison.

Read it all →

Garrison was laid out in 1905 when the Soo Line Railroad was extended to that point. The town took its name from Garrison Creek. A post office has been in operation at Garrison since 1903.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Garrison, 1903 to 1922

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Garrison post office opens
  3. 1920In the archiveGarrison, North Dakota as seen from the air, 1920
  4. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Garrison, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s3 items
Garrison, North Dakota as seen from the air, 19201920Garrison, North Dakota as seen from the air, 1920Hotel Garrison, Main Street, Garrison, North Dakota 19201920Hotel Garrison, Main Street, Garrison, North Dakota 1…Main Street and the hotel at Garrison, North Dakota 19201920Main Street and the hotel at Garrison, North Dakota 1…
1930s–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
Today9 recent
Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 082009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 08Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 072009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 07Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 062009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 06Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 052009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 05Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 042009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 04Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 032009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 03Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 022009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 02Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 012009Garrison, North Dakota, July 2009 - 01NDMap-doton-Garrison2004NDMap-doton-Garrison
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.

Garrison, North Dakota as seen from the air, 1920
Retake this viewGarrison, North Dakota as seen from the air, 1920, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Garrison, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,890

Between 406 and 1,890 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Garrison’s history

What year was Garrison founded?

The Garrison post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.

How does Garrison rank for history?

Garrison is more historic than 24% 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.

How old are the homes in Garrison?

18% of Garrison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (12), 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.