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History · Jessie

Jessie’s post office opened in 1884, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1961 on.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Jessie began

When was Jessie founded?

1884

The Jessie post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 22142 years
Founding year: the first Jessie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Jessie’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Jessie are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jessie’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Jessie, in brief

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

Jessie is a census-designated place in northern Griggs County, North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Jessie had a population of 22. An unincorporated community, it was designated as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program on March 31, 2010. It was not counted separately during the 2000 Census, but was included in the 2010 Census. It lies along North Dakota Highway 65 northwest of the city of Cooperstown, the county seat of Griggs County.

Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 25 to 22 (-12%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Jessie on the map, 1961 to 1985

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

Jessie on the 1961 USGS mapJessie on the 1985 USGS map1961Jessie 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 Jessie.

Famous people

Famous people close to Jessie

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

See all →
Thomas Ryum AmlieAmerican politician · b. 1897
Hjalmar Carl NygaardAmerican politician · b. 1906
S
Stu MacMillanAmerican football player · b. 1908

Questions about Jessie’s history

What year was Jessie founded?

The Jessie post office opened in 1884, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.