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History · Cando Township

Cando Township dates to 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Cando Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Its Register listing is the Towner County Fairgrounds Pavilion. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1890.

1884founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cando Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cando Township began, and where its name came from

When was Cando Township founded?

1884

Cando Township dates its founding to 1884 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 200 in 18902020 census: 91142 years

How did Cando Township get its name?

Cando Township was named from the pioneers' "can do" spirit.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cando Township’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,566 in 1960; 1,117 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · People over time

Cando Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,566

Peaked at 1,566 in 1960; 1,117 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Cando Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cando Township.

Read it all →

Cando was founded in 1884 as the seat of the newly formed Towner County. It was named from the pioneers' "can do" spirit. The Great Northern Railway was extended to Cando in 1888.

Just west of Cando, Dunkers Colony was founded by settlers from Indiana in 1894. The settlement later changed its name to Zion, and all that is left today is a cemetery west of Cando.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cando Township, 1884 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884
    FoundingCando Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902In the archiveThe country photographer
  5. 1912In the archiveTowner County Courthouse
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,566
  7. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cando Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s7 items
The country photographer1902The country photographerThe country photographer1902The country photographerCol. Bryan at Cando, N.D., May 7, 091909Col. Bryan at Cando, N.D., May 7, 09Col. Bryan at Cando, N.D., May 7, 091909Col. Bryan at Cando, N.D., May 7, 09Towner County Courthousec. 1912Towner County CourthouseStreet scene, Cando, N. Dak. Dec. 29, 19131913Street scene, Cando, N. Dak. Dec. 29, 1913Street scene1913Street scene
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
Today5 recent
Cando, North Dakota2009Cando, North DakotaCando, North Dakota2009Cando, North DakotaCando, North Dakota2009Cando, North DakotaCando, North Dakota2009Cando, North DakotaOld School House on US HWY 2812008Old School House on US HWY 281
On the map

Cando Township on the map, 1962 to 1985

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

Cando Township on the 1962 USGS mapCando Township on the 1985 USGS map1962Egeland SW 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 Cando 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.

The country photographer
Retake this viewThe country photographer, 1902

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cando Township

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
2024
Towner County Fairgrounds Pavilion
Towner County Fairgrounds Pavilion
Buildings
All 1 listings
Towner County Fairgrounds PavilionBuilding · listed 2024

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Johnston Polled Herefords Airstripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cando Township
Independent Order of Odd FellowsSacred Heart Catholic

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Cando 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
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe country photographer: 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.

Paulson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOlson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMaza TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBethel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cando Township’s history

What year was Cando Township founded?

In 1884, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 200 people here.

What is on the National Register in Cando Township?

One place: the Towner County Fairgrounds Pavilion (listed 2024).

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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.