The Washburn post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Turtle Valley (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,300144 years
How historic is Washburn?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Washburn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Washburn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washburn is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washburn’s overall grade.
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 Washburn’s 6.6 sits near the middle of its state (56% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Washburn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washburn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Washburn is a city in southern McLean County, North Dakota, United States. Located along the upper Missouri River, it is the county seat of McLean County. The population was 1,300 at the 2020 census. Washburn was founded in 1882 near the former site of Fort Mandan, winter quarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804–1805, near a Mandan village. The town was designated as the county seat in 1883. The city's name honors General Cadwallader C. Washburn. Washburn is home to the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, which focuses on the Expedition's winter near the Mandan village. It houses a full-scale replica of Fort Mandan, which workers of the expedition built as their base…
Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,246 to 1,300 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Washburn, 1877 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Washburn’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Turtle Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Turtle Valley
1877–1882
Washburn
1882–today
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washburn
BaptistZion German Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Washburn’s history
What year was Washburn founded?
The Washburn post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Washburn rank for history?
Washburn is more historic than 54% 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 Washburn?
One place: the Fort Buford Stage Road (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Washburn?
18% of Washburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
1919
2007
2007