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History · Bowbells Township

Bowbells Township dates to 1898, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1910.

1898founded
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Bowbells Township began

When was Bowbells Township founded?

1898

Bowbells Township dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 651 in 19102020 census: 61128 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bowbells 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 Bowbells Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 806 in 1950; 301 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowbells Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bowbells 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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People over time

Bowbells Township, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 806

Peaked at 806 in 1950; 301 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Bowbells Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bowbells Township.

Read it all →

The city of Bowbells was founded in 1898 along the main line of the Soo Line Railroad and incorporated in 1906. The city was named by railroad officials after the famed Bow bells at St Mary-le-Bow in London, England. The Soo Line is now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway and runs diagonally from the southeast to the northwest heading toward Portal, North Dakota, where the railroad crosses into Saskatchewan. The Great Northern Railway built a branchline in the early 1900s on the east side of the city that runs south-north toward Northgate, North Dakota and Northgate, Saskatchewan that became a secondary mainline, currently operated by Canadian National Railway over trackage originally owned by BNSF.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bowbells Township, 1898 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898
    FoundingBowbells Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 806
By decade

Bowbells Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111382008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211138Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111372008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211137Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111362008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211136Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111352008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211135Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111342008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211134Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111332008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211133Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111322008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211132Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111312008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211131Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111302008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211130Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111292008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211129Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111282008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211128Bowbells, North Dakota - P52111272008Bowbells, North Dakota - P5211127
On the map

Bowbells Township on the map, 1947 to 1982

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

Bowbells Township on the 1947 USGS mapBowbells Township on the 1982 USGS map1947Bowbells 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 Bowbells Township.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bowbells Township
Bethany LutheranBowbellsSaint Joseph

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.

Bowbells1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMinnesota TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDenmark TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWard TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bowbells Township’s history

What year was Bowbells Township founded?

In 1898, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1910 counted 651 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.