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History · Blacktail Township

14% of Blacktail Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1974 on.

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Blacktail 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 Blacktail Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Blacktail Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blacktail 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

Blacktail Township, in brief

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

Blacktail is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) built around Blacktail Lake in Williams County, North Dakota, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, Blacktail had a population of 61. The CDP is in northwestern Williams County, in the north-central part of Blacktail Township. It consists of residences built on the shore of Blacktail Lake, a small reservoir built on Blacktail Creek, a southeast-flowing tributary of the Little Muddy River, which flows south to the Missouri River at Williston, 25 miles (40 km) south of Blacktail.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 62 to 87 (+40%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Blacktail Township on the map, 1974 to 1983

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

Blacktail Township on the 1974 USGS mapBlacktail Township on the 1983 USGS map1974Blacktail Lake 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 Blacktail Township.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blacktail
1cemetery inside Blacktail Township
Bethel Lutheran

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.

Athens TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrthell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBonetraill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTyrone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWinner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blacktail Township’s history

Memory lane

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

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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.