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History · Beach

Beach’s post office opened in 1902, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Golden Valley County Courthouse. Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1910 on.

1902first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beach began, and where its name came from

When was Beach founded?

1902

The Beach post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 981124 years

How did Beach get its name?

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

Founding year: the first Beach post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Beach’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Beach’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · The story

How Beach came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beach.

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. 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.

Timeline

Beach, 1902 to 1913

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Beach post office opens
  3. 1910In the archiveThreshing grain
  4. 1913Born hereVern Oech is born here
By decade

Beach, decade by decade

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

1910s5 items
Threshing grain1910Threshing grainTwo 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
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
Retake this viewThreshing grain, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Beach

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Golden Valley County Courthouse
Golden Valley County Courthouse
Buildings
Golden Valley County CourthouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Beach’s post office has been open since 1902.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Beach
Beach CityBeach LutheranSaint Johns Catholic

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

Help out

Finish Beach’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: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Beach’s history

What year was Beach founded?

The Beach post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Beach?

One place: the Golden Valley County Courthouse (listed 1985).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.