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History · Walhalla

Walhalla dates to 1845, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Walla Theater. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.

1845founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Walhalla’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Walhalla began

When was Walhalla founded?

1845

Walhalla dates its founding to 1845 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 67 in 18802020 census: 893181 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓

What stands out about Walhalla’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 1,471 in 1970; 893 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1907 to 1928, drew every building in Walhalla.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1979. Watch Walhalla change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Walhalla’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Walhalla’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 viewRoller mill of the Walhalla Milling Com…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Walhalla, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,471

Peaked at 1,471 in 1970; 893 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Walhalla, building by building, 1907–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Walhalla fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Walhalla came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Walhalla.

Read it all →

Walhalla was established in 1845. The city was originally named St. Joseph (St. Jo) after the local Catholic mission, Walhalla is the second oldest town in North Dakota, its history bound up in the fur trade of the Red River Valley. One mile northeast of town was the North West Company fur trading post, established in 1797 by British-Canadian surveyor and cartographer David Thompson (1770–1857), and in 1801 moved to a site one mile east of Walhalla, where a reconstructed building is now located. Also about one mile northeast of Walhalla is the Gingras Trading Post, established in the 1840s by the Métis legislator and businessman Antoine Blanc Gingras (1821–1877).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Walhalla, 1845 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845
    FoundingWalhalla is established
  3. 1855Post officeThe Saint Joseph post office opens
  4. 1870In the archiveRoller mill of the Walhalla Milling Company
  5. 1871Post officeThe Saint Joseph post office closes
  6. 1871Post officeThe Walhalla post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archiveThe mill dam at Walhalla, N.D
  9. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1967Born herePam Merchant is born here
  11. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,471
By decade

Walhalla, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s2 items
Roller mill of the Walhalla Milling Company1870Roller mill of the Walhalla Milling CompanyThe mill dam at Walhalla, N.D1900The mill dam at Walhalla, N.D
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
Today16 recent
Walhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaWalhalla, North Dakota2009Walhalla, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaLeyden, North Dakota2009Leyden, North DakotaWalhalla Trading Post2007Walhalla Trading Post
On the map

Walhalla on the map, 1918 to 1979

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

Walhalla on the 1918 USGS mapWalhalla on the 1943 USGS mapWalhalla on the 1964 USGS mapWalhalla on the 1979 USGS map1918Walhalla 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 Walhalla.

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.

Roller mill of the Walhalla Milling Company
Retake this viewRoller mill of the Walhalla Milling Company, 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Walhalla

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
2010
Walla Theater
Walla Theater
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Art Moderne1
Walla TheaterArt Moderne

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 and burying grounds

Walhalla’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Saint Joseph, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Joseph
1855–1871
Walhalla
1871–today
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Walhalla
Saint BonifaceWalhalla

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

Questions about Walhalla’s history

What year was Walhalla founded?

In 1845, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Walhalla’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 67 people here.

What is on the National Register in Walhalla?

One place: the Walla Theater (listed 2010).

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 (16), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.