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History · Mountain

Mountain’s post office opened in 1881, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Vikur Lutheran Church at Mountain. Below: 3 old photos and papers.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mountain’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mountain began

When was Mountain founded?

1881

The Mountain post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1884.

2020 census: 80145 years
Founding year: the first Mountain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1884.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mountain’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mountain’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mountain’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 photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewStanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Mountain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mountain.

Read it all →

In the spring of 1878, a small group of Icelanders came from Canada to explore Dakota Territory. Pastor Pall Thorlaksson is known as the Father of the Icelandic Settlement in Dakota which is centered around the city of Mountain, first known by the name, VIK, which means cove.

Mountain was officially laid out in 1884. The city was named on account of its lofty elevation. A post office called Mountain has been in operation since 1881. The Vikur Lutheran Church at Mountain was built in 1884.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mountain, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, NDDate?Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Caval…Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Fuel Oil Pump Station, In Limited Access Area between Service Roads A & D, Neko…Date?Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Fuel Oil Pump…Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Cooling Tower, In Limited Access Area, between Service Roads D & A, Nekoma, Cav…Date?Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Cooling Tower…
Today2 recent
Mountain Chalet - Mountain, North Dakota 7-26-20092009Mountain Chalet - Mountain, North Dakota 7-26-2009NDMap-doton-Mountain2004NDMap-doton-Mountain
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.

Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND
Retake this viewStanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, Cavalier County, ND

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Mountain

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
2013
Vikur Lutheran Church at Mountain
Vikur Lutheran Church at Mountain
Buildings
Vikur Lutheran Church at MountainBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mountain

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

See all →
B
Brent GouletAmerican soccer player and coach · b. 1964
J
John KobsAmerican sports coach · b. 1898
R
Rob HuntPlayer of American football · b. 1981
R
Rodney Scott WebbUnited States federal judge · b. 1935
P
Pam MerchantAmerican politician · b. 1967
W
Wayne TrottierAmerican politician

Questions about Mountain’s history

What year was Mountain founded?

The Mountain post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1884.

What is on the National Register in Mountain?

One place: the Vikur Lutheran Church at Mountain (listed 2013).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.