Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1880.
The Dakota post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dakota’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dakota.
Dakota was laid out in 1857 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation at Dakota since 1857.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Dakota, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The territory comprising the present township of Dakota consists of 11,378 acres, originally contained in Buckeye Township. When the latter was set apart in 1850, the polling place for voters residing in the southeastern portion of Buckeye was located at the Red Schoolhouse, near the present town of Buena Vista. The distance thereto was a source of infinite inconvenience and vexation of spirit to those deeming it an inestimable privilege to exercise the privileges of the elective franchise, and for many years was bridged with complainings and irregularity by the American citizens who subsequently became
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
tion augmented: On the 17th of March, 1856, the township of Kent was formed out of a part of Erin ; at the September meeting of the board for the same year, the township of Loran was subdivided, the western portion being organized into Jefferson, and, in 1860, the township of Dakota was formed by the appropriation of the eastern portion of Buckeye to its name and possession.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
same time substantial growth and prosperity in the North-West. It owes its being to the opening up of the region by the Northern Pacific railway as do the other now prosperous towns along the line. Fargo is the county seat of Cass county, Dakota, situated on the west bank of the Red river and is a prominent station of the Northern Pacific railroad. The shops and engine houses of the Dakota division of the road are located here.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
same time substantial growth and prosperity in the North-West. It owes its being to the opening up of the region by the Northern Pacific railway as do the other now prosperous towns along the line. Fargo is the county seat of Cass county, Dakota, situated on the west bank of the Red river and is a prominent station of the Northern Pacific railroad. The shops and engine houses of the Dakota division of the road are located here.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dakota. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dakota.
Between 227 and 571 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dakota’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Dakota itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Dakota post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
