Mandan’s post office opened in 1879, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #9 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Most of Mandan was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The Mandan post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881. Two smaller post offices, Morton (1878) and Cushman (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 239 in 18802020 census: 24,206147 years
How historic is Mandan?
B−
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mandan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mandan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mandan is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #9 of 23 in North Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mandan’s overall grade.
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 Mandan’s 16.7 sits above most of its state (71% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1881 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
What stands out about Mandan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Mandan’s post office has been open since 1879. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Morton
1878–1879
Cushman
1879–1879
Mandan
1879–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
El Rancho Mobile Home ParkFrontier HomesteadsKens Mobile Home ParkMeadow ParkTwin City EstatesWildwood Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Mandan
Mandan Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Mandan, building by building, 1884–1919
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
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.
The city was named after the historic indigenous Mandan of the area. The Mandan are now part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, spanning the upper Missouri River in the western part of the state. Their people also live in cities of the state and other areas. In the 2010 census, nearly 5% of the people in Mandan identified as Native American.
The Mandan Indian village at the southern base of Crying Hill prominent in east Mandan was recorded as early as 1738 and called Good Fur Robe, after their chief. The settlement was also recorded as Crying Hill and Two Face Stone, after their corresponding geographic features. It was one of six Mandan villages on the west riverbank between the Knife and Cannonball Rivers.
The Mandan post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.
How does Mandan rank for history?
Mandan is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #9 of 23 in North Dakota. 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.
What is on the National Register in Mandan?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Welsh House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Mandan Commercial Historic District, with 35 contributing buildings. 41 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mandan?
9% of Mandan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (12), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1907
c. 1919
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
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