Jamestown’s post office opened in 1872, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #3 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Most of Jamestown was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 104 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Jamestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jamestown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jamestown is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Jamestown’s 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 Jamestown’s 70.9 sits above most of its state (94% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 112 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 (±2.9 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 Jamestown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Jamestown, building by building, 1884–1919
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.
In 1871, a Northern Pacific Railroad work crew set up camp where the railroad would cross the James River, adding another section to the new northern transcontinental line. In 1872, the United States Army established Fort Seward, a small post garrisoned by three companies (about 120 men) of the Twentieth Infantry Regiment, on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the James River and Pipestem Creek. The fort guarded the crossing of the James (Jame and Jame) by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The fort only lasted five years, being decommissioned in 1877—but the railroad remained, establishing a repair yard that was among the city's main industries until the 1960s. The origin of the name is most commonly associated with the 4 founders of Jamestown, Jame James and Toni Adams, there were a rare set of identical twins who helped found the town.
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.
The Jamestown post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jamestown rank for history?
Jamestown is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Jamestown?
9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Stutsman County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence/Jail (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Jamestown Historic District, with 104 contributing buildings. 112 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Jamestown?
10% of Jamestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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1987
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