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A−History
History · Velva

Velva’s post office opened in 1893, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Hotel Berry and the Alfred and Clara Sevareid House. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1909 on.

1893first post office
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Velva’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Velva began

When was Velva founded?

1893

The Velva post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1897. Another post office, Mouse River (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 1,086133 years

How historic is Velva?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Velva post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Velva’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Velva is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Velva’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.2% of homes (±7.4) · typical ND town 7.2% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 36.9 per 10,000 residents · typical ND town 2.8 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

North Dakota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical North Dakota town has 2.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Velva’s 36.9 sits above most of its state (87% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1897 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

The story

How Velva came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Velva.

Read it all →

Velva was settled in 1886 with the arrival of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) into the area, and was chartered as a city in 1905. The Hotel Berry was built in 1906 to serve railroad passengers and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Velva, 1884 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Mouse River post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Mouse River post office closes
  4. 1893Post officeThe Velva post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909In the archiveVelva Public School
  7. 1912Born hereEric Sevareid is born here
  8. 1913BuiltAlfred and Clara Sevareid House is built
By decade

Velva, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s6 items
Velva Public School1909Velva Public SchoolMain Street looking north1909Main Street looking northLooking north, Main Street1909Looking north, Main StreetMain Street looking north showing resevoir1909Main Street looking north showing resevoirBirds-eye-view, looking north1909Birds-eye-view, looking northMouse River1909Mouse River
1910s–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
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.

Velva Public School
Retake this viewVelva Public School, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Velva

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Hotel Berry
Hotel BerryAlfred and Clara Sevareid House, built 1913
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Hotel BerryCommercial
Alfred and Clara Sevareid HouseBungalow/Craftsman · Built 1913

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Velva’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Mouse River, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mouse River
1884–1893
Velva
1893–today
18801950today

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

Help out

Finish Velva’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 viewVelva Public School: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Velva’s history

What year was Velva founded?

The Velva post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1897.

How does Velva rank for history?

Velva is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Velva?

Two places: the Hotel Berry (listed 1982) and the Alfred and Clara Sevareid House (1996).

How old are the homes in Velva?

28% of Velva’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1967.

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).

From the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.