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History · Towner

Towner’s post office opened in 1886, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the McHenry County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Towner’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Towner began, and where its name came from

When was Towner founded?

1886

The Towner post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 211 in 18902020 census: 479140 years

How did Towner get its name?

Towner was named for rancher O. M. Towner.

Founding year: the first Towner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Towner’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 955 in 1950; 479 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Towner’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Towner’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Towner’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 viewMerry-go-round. Towner, North Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Towner, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 955

Peaked at 955 in 1950; 479 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Towner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Towner.

Read it all →

Towner sprang up in 1886 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway into the area. It was named for rancher O. M. Towner.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Towner, 1886 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Towner post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937In the archiveMerry-go-round. Towner, North Dakota
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 955
  7. 1970Born hereRyan Taylor is born here
By decade

Towner, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Merry-go-round. Towner, North Dakota1937Merry-go-round. Towner, North DakotaOutdoor summer pergola dining room in yard. Towner, North Dakota1937Outdoor summer pergola dining room in yard. Towner, N…
1940s–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
Today10 recent
Towner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaTowner, North Dakota2008Towner, North DakotaMcHenry County Courthouse2006McHenry County Courthouse
On the map

Towner on the map, 1950 to 1980

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

Towner on the 1950 USGS mapTowner on the 1980 USGS map1950Towner 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 Towner.

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.

Merry-go-round. Towner, North Dakota
Retake this viewMerry-go-round. Towner, North Dakota, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Towner

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
McHenry County Courthouse
McHenry County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts Neo Classicism1
McHenry County CourthouseBeaux Arts Neo Classicism

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

Questions about Towner’s history

What year was Towner founded?

The Towner post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Towner?

One place: the McHenry County Courthouse (listed 1980).

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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.