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History · Alta Township

49% of Alta Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on.

0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Alta Township’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 Alta Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18973 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1986. Watch Alta Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alta Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alta Township’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

Alta Township on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Alta Township on the 1897 USGS mapAlta Township on the 1967 USGS mapAlta Township on the 1986 USGS map1897Tower 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 Alta Township.

The story so far

Alta Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alta Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alta Township is a civil township in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 123. The township is named after Alta Ridge, a moraine belt overlooking the Sheyenne River Valley.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 108 to 123 (+14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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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Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Peak
1cemetery inside Alta Township
Memory Gardens

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOriska TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCuba TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alta Township’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.