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History · Pembina

Pembina’s post office opened in 1850, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Pembina was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Its Register listings are the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Church, the US Customs House and Post Office-Pembina and the Grace Episcopal Church.

1850first post office
3on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pembina began

When was Pembina founded?

1850

The Pembina post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1877.

2020 census: 512176 years
Founding year: the first Pembina post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1877.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pembina’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 Pembina are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pembina’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pembina’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

How Pembina came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pembina.

Read it all →

The Pembina area was historically at the borders of the territories of the Lakota, the Chippewa, and the Assiniboine, American Indian tribes, who competed for hegemony. Their conflict increased beginning with the French introduction of firearms in the late 17th century as part of their goods traded for furs. The first known European] visitors to the Pembina region were the French La Vérendrye family in the early 18th century.

ChaptersFort Pembina trading postsFort PembinaMétis in PembinaRecent history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pembina, 1850 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Pembina post office opens
  3. 1863Born hereMarie Louise Bottineau Baldwin is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1950Born hereColleen Kiko is born here
By decade

Pembina, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Pembina, North Dakota2006Pembina, North DakotaPembina, North Dakota2006Pembina, North DakotaPembina, North Dakota2006Pembina, North DakotaPembina, North Dakota2006Pembina, North DakotaPembina, North Dakota (2006)2006Pembina, North Dakota (2006)NDMap-doton-Pembina2004NDMap-doton-Pembina
On the National Register

3 historic places in Pembina

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
US Customs House and Post Office-Pembina
Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran ChurchUS Customs House and Post Office-PembinaGrace Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Late Gothic Revival1
Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBuilding
All 3 listings
US Customs House and Post Office-PembinaBuilding · listed 1989Grace Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1994

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Pembina

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Marie Louise Bottineau BaldwinChippewa and Metis, first Native American gradu… · b. 1863
Colleen KikoAmerican lawyer · b. 1950

Questions about Pembina’s history

What year was Pembina founded?

The Pembina post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1877.

What is on the National Register in Pembina?

Three places: the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Church (listed 2019), the US Customs House and Post Office-Pembina (1989) and the Grace Episcopal Church (1994).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.