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History · Richardton

Richardton’s post office opened in 1883, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1910.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Richardton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Richardton began

When was Richardton founded?

1883

The Richardton post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 647 in 19102020 census: 692143 years
Founding year: the first Richardton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Richardton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Richardton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Richardton is a city in Stark County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 692 at the 2020 census. Richardton was founded in 1883. It is part of the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area. Richardton is home to Assumption Abbey, a Benedictine abbey. A meteorite that landed near Richardton was named for it.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 529 to 692 (+31%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Richardton, 1883 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Richardton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1942In the archiveRichardton, North Dakota. Snowfight
  5. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Richardton, decade by decade

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

1940s5 items
Richardton, North Dakota. Snowfight1942Richardton, North Dakota. SnowfightRichardton, North Dakota. Graveyard1942Richardton, North Dakota. GraveyardRichardton, North Dakota. Monastery1942Richardton, North Dakota. MonasteryRichardton, North Dakota. Boys playing in the snow1942Richardton, North Dakota. Boys playing in the snowUntitled photo, possibly related to: Richardton, North Dakota. Boys playing in the snow1942Untitled photo, possibly related to: Richardton, Nort…
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
Today1 recent
NDMap-doton-Richardton2004NDMap-doton-Richardton
On the map

Richardton on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Richardton on the 1973 USGS mapRichardton on the 1981 USGS map1973Richardton 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 Richardton.

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.

Richardton, North Dakota. Snowfight
Retake this viewRichardton, North Dakota. Snowfight, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Richardton, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 799

Between 529 and 799 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Richardton

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

See all →
K
Kellan LutzAmerican actor and model · b. 1985
Byron DorganAmerican author, businessman, and politician · b. 1942
Kelly M. ArmstrongGovernor of North Dakota since 2024 · b. 1976
Dorothy StickneyBroadway actress · b. 1896
Gwen SebastianAmerican singer · b. 1974
M
Malachi RitscherAmerican musician · b. 1954
Help out

Finish Richardton’s story

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

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

Questions about Richardton’s history

What year was Richardton founded?

The Richardton post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), 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.