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History · Kenmare

Kenmare’s post office opened in 1897, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1910.

1897first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kenmare’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kenmare began

When was Kenmare founded?

1897

The Kenmare post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,437 in 19102020 census: 961129 years
Founding year: the first Kenmare post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Kenmare’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,712 in 1950; 961 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Kenmare’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · People over time

Kenmare, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,712

Peaked at 1,712 in 1950; 961 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Kenmare came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kenmare.

Read it all →

Kenmare was platted in 1897. The city most likely was named after Kenmare, in Ireland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kenmare, 1897 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Kenmare post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveKenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
  5. 1918Born hereCorwin Hansch is born here
  6. 1926Born hereMarilyn Jorgenson Reece is born here
  7. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,712
By decade

Kenmare, decade by decade

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

1910s9 items
Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 11910Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 11910Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1Kenmare - N.D., fire fighters1910Kenmare - N.D., fire fightersFire Fighters1910Fire FightersKenmare Chemical Engine Co. No. 11910Kenmare Chemical Engine Co. No. 1Hose Co. No. 11910Hose Co. No. 1Hose Co. No. 21910Hose Co. No. 2Hook and Ladder Co1910Hook and Ladder CoHarvesting J.A. Englund's 400 Acre Field of Winter Rye1912Harvesting J.A. Englund's 400 Acre Field of Winter Rye
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
Today2 recent
Downtown2015DowntownDanish Mill2015Danish Mill
On the map

Kenmare on the map, 1948 to 1981

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

Kenmare on the 1948 USGS mapKenmare on the 1950 USGS mapKenmare on the 1981 USGS map1948Kenmare 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 Kenmare.

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.

Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
Retake this viewKenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Kenmare

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Corwin HanschAmerican pharmacologist · b. 1918
Marilyn Jorgenson ReeceAmerican civil engineer · b. 1926
Help out

Finish Kenmare’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 viewKenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Kenmare’s history

What year was Kenmare founded?

The Kenmare post office opened in 1897, 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 (4), the Library of Congress (7), 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) 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.