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History · Kramer

Kramer’s post office opened in 1905

Most of Kramer was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1910.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kramer’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kramer began

When was Kramer founded?

1905

The Kramer post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ely (1892), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 181 in 19102020 census: 24121 years
Founding year: the first Kramer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Kramer’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 220 in 1940; 24 people lived here in 2020.Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Kramer’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · People over time

Kramer, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 220

Peaked at 220 in 1940; 24 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Help out

Start Kramer’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJ. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refug…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Kramer, in brief

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

Kramer is a city in Bottineau County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 24 at the 2020 census. Kramer was founded in 1905.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 29 to 24 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Kramer, 1892 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Ely post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Ely post office closes
  5. 1905Post officeThe Kramer post office opens
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 220
  7. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Kramer, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 357, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 357, Al…J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge Dams, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge Dams, Along …J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 326, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 326, Al…J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 341, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 341, Al…J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 320, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 320, Al…J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 332, Along Lower Souris RiverDate?J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 332, Al…
On the map

Kramer on the map, 1949 to 1980

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

Kramer on the 1949 USGS mapKramer on the 1950 USGS mapKramer on the 1980 USGS map1949Kramer 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 Kramer.

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.

J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 357, Along Lower Souris River
Retake this viewJ. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Dam 357, Along Lower Souris River

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Kramer

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

See all →
Tom RappAmerican musician · b. 1947
Ronald PaulsonAmerican writer and academic · b. 1930
D
Duane KluehAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1926
G
Gary DahlAmerican businessman · b. 1936
Red BastienAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1931
Ryan KraftAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1975
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Kramer’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Ely, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ely
1892–1905
Kramer
1905–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Kramer’s history

What year was Kramer founded?

The Kramer post office opened in 1905, 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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.