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History · Mercer

Mercer’s post office opened in 1905, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1950.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Mercer began

When was Mercer founded?

1905

The Mercer post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 214 in 19502020 census: 88121 years
Founding year: the first Mercer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mercer’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 Mercer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Mercer’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mercer’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mercer’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
The story so far

Mercer, in brief

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

Mercer is a city in McLean County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 88 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 126 in 2024, Mercer was founded in 1905 along a now-abandoned branch line of the Northern Pacific Railway extending from Carrington to Turtle Lake. The name comes from William Henry Harrison Mercer, a well known rancher in the Missouri River Valley for many years and for whom Mercer County is also named.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 94 to 88 (-6%).

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

By decade

Mercer, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Mercer, North Dakota 06-14-20082008Mercer, North Dakota 06-14-2008NDMap-doton-Mercer2004NDMap-doton-Mercer
On the map

Mercer on the map, 1959 to 1979

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

Mercer on the 1959 USGS mapMercer on the 1979 USGS map1959Mercer 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 Mercer.

People over time

Mercer, census by census

01002001960198020002020Peak: 214

Between 86 and 214 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mercer

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

See all →
Bruce PetersonAmerican test pilot · b. 1933
A
Alon WielandAmerican politician in the state of North Dakota · b. 1935
Gary EminethAmerican politician · b. 1958
Homer N. WallinUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1893
F
Frank FalconerCanadian politician · b. 1883
L
Layton FreborgAmerican politician · b. 1933

Questions about Mercer’s history

What year was Mercer founded?

The Mercer 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 →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.