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History · Hampden

Hampden’s post office opened in 1903

Most of Hampden was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1920.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hampden’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hampden began

When was Hampden founded?

1903

The Hampden post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Northfield (1902), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 199 in 19202020 census: 29123 years
Founding year: the first Hampden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hampden’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hampden’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewStanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Hampden, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hampden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hampden is a city in Ramsey County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 29 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 28 in 2025.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 48 to 29 (-40%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hampden, 1902 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Northfield post office opens
  3. 1903Post officeThe Northfield post office closes
  4. 1903Post officeThe Hampden post office opens
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hampden, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, NDDate?Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Caval…Grand Forks Air Force Base Painted Murals, Missile Alert Facility Echo-Zero, Grand Forks, Grand Forks County, NDDate?Grand Forks Air Force Base Painted Murals, Missile Al…
Today11 recent
Hampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden, North Dakota2009Hampden, North DakotaHampden Fire Department Hampden, North Dakota 7-19-20092009Hampden Fire Department Hampden, North Dakota 7-19-20…
On the map

Hampden on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Hampden on the 1970 USGS mapHampden on the 1985 USGS map1970Hampden 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 Hampden.

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.

Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND
Retake this viewStanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hampden, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 222

Between 29 and 222 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Hampden’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Northfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Northfield
1902–1903
Hampden
1903–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Hampden’s history

What year was Hampden founded?

The Hampden post office opened in 1903, 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 Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (2), 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.