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History · Gladstone

Gladstone’s post office opened in 1882, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1940.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gladstone’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gladstone began

When was Gladstone founded?

1882

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

First census: 278 in 19402020 census: 271144 years
Founding year: the first Gladstone post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gladstone’s past

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

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Gladstone, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s12 items
Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food for Victory meeting1942Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food for Victory m…Gladstone, North Dakota. County agent addressing group of farmers at Food for Victory meeting1942Gladstone, North Dakota. County agent addressing grou…Gladstone, North Dakota. County agent addressing group of farmers at Food for Victory meeting1942Gladstone, North Dakota. County agent addressing grou…Gladstone, North Dakota. FSA (Farm Security Administration) supervisor addressing Food for Victory meeting of farmers1942Gladstone, North Dakota. FSA (Farm Security Administr…Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture1942Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for V…Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture1942Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for V…Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture1942Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for V…Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture1942Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for V…Gladstone, North Dakota. FSA (Farm Security Administration) home supervisor addressing a group of farmers at Food for V…1942Gladstone, North Dakota. FSA (Farm Security Administr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by t…1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Gladstone, North…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by t…1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Gladstone, North…Gladstone, North Carolina. Farmers attending Food for Victory meeting sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture1942Gladstone, North Carolina. Farmers attending Food for…
1950s–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
One of several scrap-metal art sculptures (the world's largest) near the town of Gladstone at the north end of North Da…2021One of several scrap-metal art sculptures (the world'…One of several scrap-metal art sculptures (the world's largest) near the town of Gladstone at the north end of North Da…2021One of several scrap-metal art sculptures (the world'…A "forever scene" that includes a remote grain elevator complex, near Gladstone, North Dakota2021A "forever scene" that includes a remote grain elevat…
The story

How Gladstone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gladstone.

Read it all →

Gladstone was laid out in 1882, and was originally built up by a group of settlers from Ripon, Wisconsin. The group's founder James Gray Campbell was joined by about 150 pioneers who included Mrs. Ira Lawrence, May (Lawrence) Sorber, Russell Lawrence (born 1882 at Gladstone), Alice Campbell Lytle (born 1882 at Gladstone), Mrs. Birdsall, Mrs. Clarence E. Eldred, Mrs. Charles Kono, Estelle Cryne Hagburg, Orrissa Cryne Elwell, Mrs. G.S. Cryne and G.S. Cryne. The city was named for British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Settlers made use of available resources including underground coal, clay for brick building, and agate sand deposits, in demand by the railroad companies, and raised high grade horses.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gladstone, 1882 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Gladstone post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1942In the archiveGladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food for Victory meeting
  5. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Gladstone on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Gladstone on the 1973 USGS mapGladstone on the 1981 USGS map1973Gladstone 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 Gladstone.

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.

Gladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food for Victory meeting
Retake this viewGladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food for Victory meeting, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Gladstone, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 317

Between 185 and 317 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gladstone

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

See all →
K
Kellan LutzAmerican actor and model · b. 1985
Byron DorganAmerican author, businessman, and politician · b. 1942
Kelly M. ArmstrongGovernor of North Dakota since 2024 · b. 1976
Dorothy StickneyBroadway actress · b. 1896
Gwen SebastianAmerican singer · b. 1974
M
Malachi RitscherAmerican musician · b. 1954
Help out

Finish Gladstone’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 viewGladstone, North Dakota. Farmer at Food…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Gladstone’s history

What year was Gladstone founded?

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

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 the Library of Congress (15), 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.