Grand Forks’ post office opened in 1870, and 60 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #2 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Most of Grand Forks was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 60 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 628 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The Grand Forks post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, University (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,705 in 18802020 census: 59,166156 years
How historic is Grand Forks?
B+
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grand Forks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grand Forks’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grand Forks is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #2 of 23 in North Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Forks’ overall grade.
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 Grand Forks’ 118 sits above most of its state (97% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 696 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Grand Forks’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before Europeans arrived, the area where the city developed, at the forks of the Red River and Red Lake River, had been an important meeting and trading point for Native Americans for thousands of years. Early French explorers, fur trappers, and traders called the area Les Grandes Fourches, meaning "The Grand Forks". By the 1740s, French fur trappers relied on Les Grandes Fourches as an important trading post. This was French colonial territory.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grand Forks. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks.
Every building
Grand Forks, building by building, 1884–1916
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.
The Grand Forks post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Grand Forks rank for history?
Grand Forks is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #2 of 23 in North Dakota. 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 Grand Forks?
60 listings: 54 buildings, among them the Oxford House (listed 1973, the first), 4 historic districts with 628 contributing buildings, 2 structures, and 1 object. 696 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grand Forks?
9% of Grand Forks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (61), Wikipedia, 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.
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