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Ypsilanti, North Dakota 6-8-2008Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Ypsilanti

Ypsilanti’s post office opened in 1882

Below: maps from 1896 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Ypsilanti began

When was Ypsilanti founded?

1882

The Ypsilanti post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 109144 years
Founding year: the first Ypsilanti post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ypsilanti’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 Ypsilanti are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1986. Watch Ypsilanti change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ypsilanti’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ypsilanti’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Ypsilanti on the map, 1896 to 1986

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

Ypsilanti on the 1896 USGS mapYpsilanti on the 1952 USGS mapYpsilanti on the 1986 USGS map1896Jamestown sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Ypsilanti came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ypsilanti.

Read it all →

In 1879, the U.S. Government gave 621 acres of land to the Northern Pacific Railway, and part of this became Ypsilanti Township and the townsite of Ypsilanti.

The townsite of Ypsilanti was platted by William Hartley Colby and a partner by the name of Lloyd DePuy. W.H. Colby had come from Ypsilanti, Michigan, so he named the new townsite after the Michigan city by that name.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Ypsilanti, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Ypsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North DakotaYpsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North DakotaYpsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North DakotaYpsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North DakotaYpsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North DakotaYpsilanti, North Dakota2008Ypsilanti, North Dakota
Famous people

Famous people close to Ypsilanti

Nobody well known was born in Ypsilanti itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Peggy LeeAmerican singer · b. 1920
Louis L'AmourAmerican novelist and short story writer · b. 1908
R
Rodney StarkAmerican sociologist of religion · b. 1934
Richard HiebAmerican astronaut · b. 1955
Jim RamstadAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1946
C
Charles Lewis CampAmerican paleontologist and zoologist · b. 1893

Questions about Ypsilanti’s history

What year was Ypsilanti founded?

The Ypsilanti post office opened in 1882, 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 →
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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 (6), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.