Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Benedict was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1920.
The Benedict post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benedict’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Benedict yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Benedict is a city in McLean County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 68 at the 2020 census. Benedict was founded in 1906.
Its first post office opened in 1906. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 66 to 68 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Benedict. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Benedict.
Between 52 and 195 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Benedict’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Benedict itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Benedict post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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.
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