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History · Leonard

Leonard’s post office opened in 1881, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Watts Free Library. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1960.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Leonard began

When was Leonard founded?

1881

The Leonard post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 232 in 19602020 census: 248145 years
Founding year: the first Leonard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Leonard’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 Leonard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18953 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1986. Watch Leonard change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leonard’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Leonard on the map, 1895 to 1986

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

Leonard on the 1895 USGS mapLeonard on the 1959 USGS mapLeonard on the 1986 USGS map1895Casselton 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 Leonard.

The story

How Leonard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leonard.

Read it all →

Leonard was founded in 1881 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation at Leonard since 1881.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Leonard, 1881 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Leonard post office opens
  3. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920Born hereKen Bartholomew is born here
By decade

Leonard, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Leonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North DakotaLeonard, North Dakota2009Leonard, North Dakota
On the National Register

1 historic place in Leonard

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Watts Free Library
Watts Free Library
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Stick/Eastlake1
Watts Free LibraryStick/Eastlake

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Leonard, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 310

Between 221 and 310 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Leonard’s post office has been open since 1881.

Gone or out of use
Leonard Municipal Airportairport

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

Questions about Leonard’s history

What year was Leonard founded?

The Leonard post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Leonard?

One place: the Watts Free Library (listed 1990).

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.