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History · Tripp

Tripp’s post office opened in 1886, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tripp began

When was Tripp founded?

1886

The Tripp post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1910.

First census: 226 in 18902020 census: 575140 years
Founding year: the first Tripp post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1910.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tripp’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 Tripp are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Tripp change.Boom and bustPeaked at 970 in 1920; 575 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Tripp’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tripp’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tripp’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

Tripp on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Tripp on the 1898 USGS mapTripp on the 1978 USGS mapTripp on the 1985 USGS map1898Olivet 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 Tripp.

People over time

Tripp, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 970

Peaked at 970 in 1920; 575 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Tripp came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tripp.

Read it all →

Tripp was laid out in 1886, and named in honor of Bartlett Tripp, chief justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. Tripp was incorporated in 1910.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tripp, 1886 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Tripp post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 970
  6. 1993Born hereCaleb Finck is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Questions about Tripp’s history

What year was Tripp founded?

The Tripp post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1910.

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 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.