The developed town moved to its present location in 1902 to be closer to the Great Northern Railway to the south.

Fearing the end of their town, Rick Jorgensen and Harley "Bud" Kissner thought of ways to bring in newcomers with school-age children to the town with the intent of keeping the school open.

[6] Rick thought of the idea to give away land and Bud volunteered some of his 640-acre (2.6 km2) farm to modern homesteaders.

The deal was to stay for five years and enroll the children in the Antler elementary school.

Rick drew up a newspaper ad while a wire service spread the story.

The plan worked for just a few years and the grade school closed in 1987,[6] with 6 families receiving plots of 5 or 9 acres (36,000 m2).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.17 square miles (0.44 km2), all land.

Residents identified themselves as having predominately European ancestry, with the largest three being Norwegian (25.5%), Swedish (14.5%), and German (10.9%).

[15][verification needed] The quilt, coordinated by Leona Tennyson, measured 85 by 134 feet and featured the outline of the state of North Dakota, partitioned into its counties.

[16] Antler is home to the O-2 Flight, "King Stag", LGM-30 Minuteman Nuclear Missile silo (48-58-01 North, 101-15-36 West), with the distinction of being the closest intercontinental nuclear missile to a Nuclear-missile-free Canada.