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History · Tolna

Tolna’s post office opened in 1906, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1910.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Tolna began

When was Tolna founded?

1906

The Tolna post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Crosier (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 209 in 19102020 census: 136120 years
Founding year: the first Tolna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Tolna’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 Tolna are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 291 in 1960; 136 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Tolna’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tolna’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tolna’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
People over time

Tolna, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 291

Peaked at 291 in 1960; 136 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Tolna, in brief

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

Tolna is a city in Nelson County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 136 at the 2020 census. Tolna was founded in 1906.

Its first post office opened in 1906. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 166 to 136 (-18%).

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

Timeline

Tolna, 1882 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Crosier post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Crosier post office closes
  5. 1906Post officeThe Tolna post office opens
  6. 1908Born hereObert C. Teigen is born here
  7. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 291
By decade

Tolna, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Tolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaTolna, North Dakota2009Tolna, North DakotaFire Department building in Tolna, North Dakota 5-31-20092009Fire Department building in Tolna, North Dakota 5-31-…
On the map

Tolna on the map, 1930 to 1951

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

Tolna on the 1930 USGS mapTolna on the 1951 USGS map1930Pekin sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tolna.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Tolna’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Crosier, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Crosier
1882–1906
Tolna
1906–today
18801950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tolna
Saint MarysTolna

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

Questions about Tolna’s history

What year was Tolna founded?

The Tolna post office opened in 1906, 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 (18), 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.