Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1920.
Kindred dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kindred is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Kindred’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kindred’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kindred. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kindred.
From Wikipedia’s history of Kindred.
Kindred was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. The city was named for William A. Kindred, a local businessman and afterward mayor of Fargo, North Dakota. A post office has been in operation at Kindred since 1881. Kindred was incorporated as a village on March 10, 1920 and as a city on April 3, 1950.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyGrew from 334 people in 1920 to 889 in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kindred’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Kindred itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Kindred’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Sibley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1880, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kindred’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1920 counted 334 people here.
Kindred is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. 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.
29% of Kindred’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1968.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.
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