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Churchs Ferry, North Dakota 5-23-2008Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
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History · Churchs Ferry

Churchs Ferry’s post office opened in 1886

Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Churchs Ferry began

When was Churchs Ferry founded?

1886

The Churchs Ferry post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 264 in 19002020 census: 9140 years
Founding year: the first Churchs Ferry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Churchs Ferry’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 Churchs Ferry are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 457 in 1910; 9 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Churchs Ferry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Churchs Ferry’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

Churchs Ferry, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 457

Peaked at 457 in 1910; 9 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Churchs Ferry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Churchs Ferry.

Read it all →

The City of Churchs Ferry was founded in 1883 until September 30, 2022 when the town disincorporated and was turned over to Ramsey County. Churchs Ferry was incorporated as a village on March 5, 1897 and as a city on July 1, 1967.

The town took its name from an early resident, Irvine Church, who operated a ferry service on Devils Lake, when the Minnie H steamboat also traversed its waters. The lake began shrinking after 1900, and soon became too shallow for commercial vessels. The prolonged drought of the Dust Bowl years impacted the lake, reducing it to a slough by 1940. The lake began to recover in the mid-20th century, returning to a depth that allowed the resumption of recreational use by the 1970s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Churchs Ferry, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Churchs Ferry, North Dakota 5-23-20082008Churchs Ferry, North Dakota 5-23-2008Churchs Ferry, North Dakota2008Churchs Ferry, North DakotaChurchs Ferry, North Dakota2008Churchs Ferry, North DakotaChurchs Ferry, North Dakota2008Churchs Ferry, North Dakota
On the map

Churchs Ferry on the map, 1957 to 1994

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

Churchs Ferry on the 1957 USGS mapChurchs Ferry on the 1985 USGS mapChurchs Ferry on the 1994 USGS map1957Churchs Ferry 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 Churchs Ferry.

Questions about Churchs Ferry’s history

What year was Churchs Ferry founded?

The Churchs Ferry post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.