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Beach, North Dakota train stationPhoto: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Beach Township

Beach Township dates to 1902, and 80% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1980 on, and the census since 1910.

1902founded
0on the National Register
80%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beach Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beach Township began, and where its name came from

When was Beach Township founded?

1902

Beach Township dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,003 in 19102020 census: 154124 years

How did Beach Township get its name?

Beach Township was named for Captain Warren C. Beach of the U.S. Army's 11th Infantry Regiment.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1913. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Beach Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Beach Township’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,461 in 1950; 981 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Beach Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · The story

How Beach Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beach Township.

Read it all →

Beach was first settled circa 1900. It was named for Captain Warren C. Beach of the U.S. Army's 11th Infantry Regiment. Beach had led an expedition of railroad surveyors through the area in 1880. The post office was established in 1902, and the town was incorporated first as a village in 1908 and as a city in 1909. It was named the county seat of Golden Valley County in 1912.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Beach Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,461

Peaked at 1,461 in 1950; 981 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chama
1913–1914
Thelen
1920–1921
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChamaThelan
Gone or out of use
Black Diamond Minemine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Beach Township, 1902 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902
    FoundingBeach Township is established
  3. 1910In the archiveThreshing grain. Beach, North Dakota
  4. 1913Post officeThe Chama post office opens
  5. 1914Post officeThe Chama post office closes
  6. 1920Post officeThe Thelen post office opens
  7. 1921Post officeThe Thelen post office closes
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,461
  9. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Beach Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
Threshing grain. Beach, North Dakota1910Threshing grain. Beach, North DakotaTwo section panorama of Beach, N.D1910Two section panorama of Beach, N.DTwo section panorama of Beach, N.D1910Two section panorama of Beach, N.DTwo section panorama of Beach, N.D.) no. 21910Two section panorama of Beach, N.D.) no. 2Two section panorama of Beach, N.D.) no. 21910Two section panorama of Beach, N.D.) no. 2
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
Today1 recent
Beach, North Dakota2008Beach, North Dakota
On the map

Beach Township on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Beach Township.

Beach Township on the 1980 USGS map1980Beach East sheet · 1:24,000

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

Threshing grain. Beach, North Dakota
Retake this viewThreshing grain. Beach, North Dakota, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Beach Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThreshing grain. Beach, North Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sentinel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLone Tree TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSaddle Butte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDelhi TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beach Township’s history

What year was Beach Township founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata. Beach Township’s post office opened in 1913, and the census of 1910 counted 1,003 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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.