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History · Reeder

Reeder dates to 1907, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1910.

1907founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Reeder’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Reeder began

When was Reeder founded?

1907

Reeder dates its founding to 1907 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 198 in 19102020 census: 125119 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1907.The full story ↓

What stands out about Reeder’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 395 in 1930; 125 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Reeder’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Reeder’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Reeder’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewReeder, North Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Reeder, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 395

Peaked at 395 in 1930; 125 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Reeder came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Reeder.

Read it all →

In 1907, two brothers, Albert and Charles Leff, founded and operated a post office, among other enterprises, one and one-half miles east of the present town of Reeder. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad later platted the current townsite and named it Reeder. The Leff post office was relocated to the new town March 13, 1908, and the name Leff was used until July 1, 1908.

A tornado struck the area in 1923, destroying farmhouses and causing several deaths.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Reeder, 1907 to 1969

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907
    FoundingReeder is established
  3. 1907Post officeThe Leff post office opens
  4. 1908Post officeThe Leff post office closes
  5. 1908Post officeThe Reeder post office opens
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 395
  7. 1931Born hereDick Koppenhaver is born here
  8. 1942In the archiveReeder, North Dakota
  9. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Reeder, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s4 items
Reeder, North Dakota1942Reeder, North DakotaReeder, North Dakota1942Reeder, North DakotaReeder, North Dakota1942Reeder, North DakotaReeder, North Dakota. Snow banks and tops of grain elevators1942Reeder, North Dakota. Snow banks and tops of grain el…
1950s–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
On the map

Reeder on the map, 1969 to 1980

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

Reeder on the 1969 USGS mapReeder on the 1980 USGS map1969Reeder 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 Reeder.

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.

Reeder, North Dakota
Retake this viewReeder, North Dakota, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Reeder’s post office has been open since 1908. Another post office, Leff, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Leff
1907–1908
Reeder
1908–today
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Reeder Landing Fieldairport

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

Questions about Reeder’s history

What year was Reeder founded?

In 1907, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Reeder’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1910 counted 198 people here.

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 the Library of Congress (4), 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.