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–Not graded
History · Kensal

Kensal dates to 1892, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1910.

1892founded
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Kensal began

When was Kensal founded?

1892

Kensal dates its founding to 1892 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 456 in 19102020 census: 146134 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1887.

What stands out about Kensal’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 Kensal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1985. Watch Kensal change.Old housesHalf of Kensal’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kensal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kensal’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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On the map

Kensal on the map, 1900 to 1985

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

Kensal on the 1900 USGS mapKensal on the 1951 USGS mapKensal on the 1985 USGS map1900Pingree 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 Kensal.

The story so far

Kensal, in brief

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

Kensal is a city in Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 146 at the 2020 census. Kensal was founded in 1892. It is the location of, or nearest community to, the Cecil Baker Round Barn, which was built in 1921 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kensal was established in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 163 to 146 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Kensal, 1887 to 1900

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Arrowwood post office opens
  3. 1892
    FoundingKensal is established
  4. 1893Post officeThe Arrowwood post office closes
  5. 1893Post officeThe Kensal post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Kensal, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 456

Between 146 and 456 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Kensal’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Arrowwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Arrowwood
1887–1893
Kensal
1893–today
18801950today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

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

Questions about Kensal’s history

What year was Kensal founded?

In 1892, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kensal’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1910 counted 456 people here.

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, 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.