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–Not graded
History · Hankinson

Hankinson’s post office opened in 1886, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hankinson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hankinson began

When was Hankinson founded?

1886

The Hankinson post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 713 in 19002020 census: 921140 years
Founding year: the first Hankinson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hankinson’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,503 in 1910; 921 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1998. Watch Hankinson change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1927, drew every building in Hankinson.Old housesHalf of Hankinson’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · People over time

Hankinson, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,503

Peaked at 1,503 in 1910; 921 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Hankinson on the map, 1904 to 1998

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

Hankinson on the 1904 USGS mapHankinson on the 1964 USGS mapHankinson on the 1985 USGS mapHankinson on the 1998 USGS map1904Wahpeton 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 Hankinson.

Every building

Hankinson, building by building, 1908–1927

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.

Hankinson fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Hankinson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hankinson.

Read it all →

Hankinson was founded in 1886. A post office has been in operation at Hankinson since 1886. The city was named after R. H. Hankinson, a local land owner.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hankinson, 1886 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Hankinson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1910In the archiveMain Street
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,503
By decade

Hankinson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s6 items
Main Street1910Main StreetHigh School1910High SchoolSt. Philips Church1910St. Philips ChurchSt. Philips Church1910St. Philips ChurchCong. Church1910Cong. ChurchOpra [Opera] House1910Opra [Opera] House
1920s–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
Today12 recent
Hankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson, North Dakota2009Hankinson, North DakotaHankinson2009HankinsonDonBarnes2008DonBarnesNDMap-doton-Hankinson2004NDMap-doton-Hankinson
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.

Main Street
Retake this viewMain Street, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Hankinson’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 viewMain Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Brightwood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaldo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hankinson’s history

What year was Hankinson founded?

The Hankinson post office opened in 1886, 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 (12), the Library of Congress (6), 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.