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History · Mott

Mott’s post office opened in 1904, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hettinger County Courthouse. Below: 28 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1920.

1904first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
28old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mott’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mott began

When was Mott founded?

1904

The Mott post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Chase (1901), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 723 in 19202020 census: 653122 years
Founding year: the first Mott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mott’s past

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

A town in old photos28 old photos, postcards and papers, 1909–1982.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,583 in 1950; 653 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Mott’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · By decade

Mott, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s9 items
Mott Hotel1909Mott HotelMain Street1909Main StreetCatholic Church1909Catholic ChurchMarket Day Sale1909Market Day SaleDistance view of Mott, N.D1909Distance view of Mott, N.DNo. Main St1909No. Main StM.E. Church1909M.E. ChurchHettinger Co. Court House1909Hettinger Co. Court HouseBridge across Cannon Ball River1909Bridge across Cannon Ball River
1910s–1930s3 items
Northstar LBR. Co. freighting 40 mi. with Hart-Parr gas eng. to Mott, N.D1910Northstar LBR. Co. freighting 40 mi. with Hart-Parr g…Plowing with 2 Flour City engines owned by Wakefield Bros. near Mott, No. Dak1910Plowing with 2 Flour City engines owned by Wakefield …Forms Ready for Concrete - Cannonball Bridge Pier1939Forms Ready for Concrete - Cannonball Bridge Pier
1940s–1970snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1980s16 items
CENTER PIER AND ARCHES, LOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980CENTER PIER AND ARCHES, LOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow …CENTER PIER AND ARCHES,LLOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980CENTER PIER AND ARCHES,LLOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow …CENTER PIER, ARCHES, AND STRINGERS LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980CENTER PIER, ARCHES, AND STRINGERS LOOKING SOUTHWEST …DETAIL OF ARCH AND STRINGERS LOOKING WEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980DETAIL OF ARCH AND STRINGERS LOOKING WEST - Mott Rain…DETAIL OF LIGHTING STANDARD AT SOUTHWEST APPROACH, LOOKING NORTHWEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball Ri…1980DETAIL OF LIGHTING STANDARD AT SOUTHWEST APPROACH, LO…GENERAL VIEW OF STRUCTURE (IN PROFILE) LOOKING NORTHWEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980GENERAL VIEW OF STRUCTURE (IN PROFILE) LOOKING NORTHW…GENERAL VIEW OF STRUCTURE (IN PROFILE) LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980GENERAL VIEW OF STRUCTURE (IN PROFILE) LOOKING SOUTHE…NORTHEAST APPROACH DETAILING LIGHTING STANDARDS, LOOKING SOUTH - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River, M…1980NORTHEAST APPROACH DETAILING LIGHTING STANDARDS, LOOK…NORTHEAST APPROACH LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980NORTHEAST APPROACH LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott Rainbow A…NORTHEAST END OF BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980NORTHEAST END OF BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott Rain…SIDE VIEW OF ARCHES AND CENTER PIER LOOKING WEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980SIDE VIEW OF ARCHES AND CENTER PIER LOOKING WEST - Mo…SOUTHWEST APPROACH LOOKING NORTHEAST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980SOUTHWEST APPROACH LOOKING NORTHEAST - Mott Rainbow A…UNDERSIDE OF BRIDGE SHOWING CENTER PIER, DECK, AND BEAMS - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980UNDERSIDE OF BRIDGE SHOWING CENTER PIER, DECK, AND BE…VIEW OF ARCHES AND CENTER PIER, LOOKING WEST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980VIEW OF ARCHES AND CENTER PIER, LOOKING WEST - Mott R…VIEW OF WEST END OF STRUCTURE LOOKING NORTHEAST - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1980VIEW OF WEST END OF STRUCTURE LOOKING NORTHEAST - Mot…VIEW SHOWING HANGER BETWEEN ARCH AND DECK - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball River1982VIEW SHOWING HANGER BETWEEN ARCH AND DECK - Mott Rain…
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
People over time

Mott, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,583

Peaked at 1,583 in 1950; 653 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Mott came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mott.

Read it all →

Mott was founded in 1904 when the surrounding territory was opened to settlers. There are conflicting stories of how the city was named. One theory is the city was named for Lillian Mott, the secretary of the town promoter, while the competing theory says the city was named for C. W. Mott, a railroad employee. A post office has been in operation at Mott since 1904.

A 1975 F4 tornado struck Mott, killing one and injuring four.

A distinctive symbol for Mott was the art deco arched "rainbow" bridge crossing the Cannonball River to the unincorporated area colloquially known as "West Mott". The arched bridge was damaged beyond repair in a 1997 flood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mott, 1901 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Chase post office opens
  3. 1904Post officeThe Chase post office closes
  4. 1904Post officeThe Mott post office opens
  5. 1909In the archiveMott Hotel
  6. 1910In the archiveNorthstar LBR. Co. freighting 40 mi. with Hart-Parr gas eng. to Mott, N.D
  7. 1919Born hereMelvin J. Miller is born here
  8. 1939In the archiveForms Ready for Concrete - Cannonball Bridge Pier
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,583
  10. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1980In the archiveCENTER PIER AND ARCHES, LOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow Arch Bridge, Spanning Cannonball Riv…
On the map

Mott on the map, 1966 to 1980

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

Mott on the 1966 USGS mapMott on the 1980 USGS map1966Mott South 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 Mott.

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.

Mott Hotel
Retake this viewMott Hotel, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Mott

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
1985
Hettinger County Courthouse
Hettinger County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
Hettinger County CourthouseArt Deco

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Mott’s post office has been open since 1904. Another post office, Chase, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chase
1901–1904
Mott
1904–today
19001960today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mott
Mott Sunny SlopeSaint Vincents Catholic

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

Help out

Finish Mott’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMott Hotel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Castle Rock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMott TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeery Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mott’s history

What year was Mott founded?

The Mott post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mott?

One place: the Hettinger County Courthouse (listed 1985).

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 (17), the Library of Congress (11), 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.