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History · Arvilla Township

39% of Arvilla Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1936 on.

0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0

What stands out about Arvilla 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 Arvilla Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arvilla Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arvilla 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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The story so far

Arvilla Township, in brief

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

Arvilla (formerly Orange) is an unincorporated community in central Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 2, west of the city of Grand Forks, the county seat of Grand Forks County. Its elevation is 1,004 feet (306 m). The community was first named Orange for Orange County, New York; it was renamed Arvilla for Arvilla Estella Hersey, the wife of a local farmer. Although Arvilla is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 58214. The post office was established in 1882.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 338 to 280 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Arvilla Township, 1879 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Orange post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Orange post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Arvilia post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Arvilla Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
An early-winter scene near the town of Arvilla in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, near the city of the same name2021An early-winter scene near the town of Arvilla in Gra…Arvilla, North Dakota2013Arvilla, North DakotaArvilla community center north dakota 20062008Arvilla community center north dakota 2006Arvilla, North Dakota2002Arvilla, North Dakota
On the map

Arvilla Township on the map, 1936 to 1963

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

Arvilla Township on the 1936 USGS mapArvilla Township on the 1963 USGS map1936Larimore sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arvilla Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Arvilla Township

Nobody well known was born in Arvilla Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
C
Clint HillU.S. Secret Service agent · b. 1932
LeRoy MasonAmerican film actor · b. 1903
H
Howard BrandtAmerican physicist · b. 1939
John Milton HancockAmerican Navy officer and financier · b. 1883
T
Truck HannahAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
P
Patrick HatlestadAmerican politician · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Orange, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orange
1879–1882
Arvilia
1882–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arvilla
1cemetery inside Arvilla Township
Arvilla

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Hegton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChester TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLarimore2 historic placesBLarimore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAvon Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElm Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Arvilla 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.