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History · Bathgate Township

Bathgate Township dates to 1881

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1890.

1881founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bathgate Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bathgate Township began

When was Bathgate Township founded?

1881

Bathgate Township dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 377 in 18902020 census: 42145 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bathgate 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 641 in 1900; 47 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bathgate Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bathgate Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewND School for the Blind: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bathgate Township, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 641

Peaked at 641 in 1900; 47 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bathgate Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Bathgate Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bathgate Township.

Read it all →

Bathgate was originally called Bayview, and was laid out under that name in 1879. The present name, after Bathgate, Scotland, was adopted in 1881. A post office called Bathgate has been in operation since that year.

In June 1909, Bathgate experienced an 11-hour thunderstorm that destroyed several buildings and killed a number of horses. Understandably, many of the citizens are still in mourning of this event, and often practice 'moments of silence' to honor the dead horses and fallen buildings.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bathgate Township, 1881 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingBathgate Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 641
  5. 1908In the archiveND School for the Blind
  6. 1914In the archiveEntrance to School for the Blind in Bathgate, N.D., circa 1914
  7. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bathgate Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s2 items
ND School for the Blind1908ND School for the BlindEntrance to School for the Blind in Bathgate, N.D., circa 19141914Entrance to School for the Blind in Bathgate, N.D., c…
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
Bathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North DakotaBathgate, North Dakota2009Bathgate, North Dakota
On the map

Bathgate Township on the map, 1941 to 1985

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

Bathgate Township on the 1941 USGS mapBathgate Township on the 1971 USGS mapBathgate Township on the 1985 USGS map1941Bathgate 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 Bathgate Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

ND School for the Blind
Retake this viewND School for the Blind, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bathgate Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Magnuson Fieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bathgate Township
BathgateSaint Anthonys

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.

Hamilton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarlisle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNeche TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bathgate Township’s history

What year was Bathgate Township founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 377 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (17), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.