A history of Wahpeton,
since 1869
Postcards, papers and photographs of Wahpeton from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Wahpeton was founded in 1869 and is the principal city of the Wahpeton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Richland County, North Dakota and Wilkin County, Minnesota. Wahpeton's twin city is Breckenridge, Minnesota, on the other side of the river. The Bois de Sioux River and the Otter Tail River join at Wahpeton and Breckenridge to form the Red River of the North.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Wahpeton’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMerchants Hotel in Wahpeton, N.D.…, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Wahpeton
See all 8 →
Wahpeton, decade by decade
LOCNorth side Dakota Ave., looking east1908
LOCDakota Ave. west from bridge1908
LOCDakota Ave. east from 6th Street1908
LOCDakota Ave., west from Second St1908
LOCRed River of the North1908
LOCSixth Street north from Pembima Ave1908
LOCGrade chool1908
LOCSouth side Dakota Ave., west from Fifth St1908
LOCCongregational Church1908
LOCMethodist Church1908
LOCHigh School1908
LOCGreetings from Wahpeton, N.D1908
LOCLutheran Bible School1908
LOCGovt. Indian School1908
LOCBohemian Catholic Church19081990s
5 historic places in Wahpeton
5 places in Wahpeton are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1980Richland County Courthouse
Listed 1983Wahpeton Hospital
Listed 1984Red River Valley University
Listed 1989US Post Office-Wahpeton
Listed 1990Leach Public LibraryThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Merchants Hotel in Wahpeton, N.D., late 1800s (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (3) and the Library of Congress (15). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.