The Park River post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1884. Another post office, Kensington (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,424147 years
How historic is Park River?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Park River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1884.
History grade
What drives Park River’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Park River is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Park River’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 Park River’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1884 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 Park River’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Park River yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Park River is a city in Walsh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. Park River was founded in 1884. Park River was named after the river Park River. The controversial and often peripatetic father of John D. Rockefeller, William Avery Rockefeller, lived for a time on a 160-acre ranch in Park River that his son had purchased for him. The senior Rockefeller lived in the town through the 1890s, even after the original property was sold by his son in 1889. In 1903, a Park River blacksmith named Samuel Holland built a motor car called the Holland Special. He built at least five more cars between 1903 and 1908.
Its first post office opened in 1879. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,403 in 2010, 1,424 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Park River, 1879 to 1934
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Park River post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1884.
How does Park River rank for history?
Park River is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Park River?
7% of Park River’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2020
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2004