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History · Cooperstown Township

Cooperstown Township dates to 1882, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1890.

1882founded
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cooperstown Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cooperstown Township began

When was Cooperstown Township founded?

1882

Cooperstown Township dates its founding to 1882 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 368 in 18902020 census: 59144 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cooperstown Township’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,485 in 1970; 983 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Cooperstown Township’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · People over time

Cooperstown Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,485

Peaked at 1,485 in 1970; 983 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Cooperstown Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cooperstown Township.

Read it all →

The city is named for R. C. Cooper, a bonanza farmer who built the first wood-frame house in the area in 1880. Prior to Cooper's arrival, most settlers or the era lived in sod houses, covered wagons, tents, or log cabins (especially near the Sheyenne River where trees were numerous). Cooperstown was laid out on October 26, 1882, soon before the railroad was extended to that point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cooperstown Township, 1882 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882
    FoundingCooperstown Township is established
  3. 1892In the archiveGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,485
By decade

Cooperstown Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)c. 1892Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
1900s–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
Date unknown4 to date
Griggs County Bridge, Spanning Sheyenne River at Route 2Date?Griggs County Bridge, Spanning Sheyenne River at Rout…Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Launch Facility November-33, State Highway 200Date?Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Launch Facility N…Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Launch Facility November-33, Launcher, State Highway 200Date?Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Launch Facility N…Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Alert Facility Oscar-Zero, Launch Control Center, State Highway 45Date?Grand Forks Air Force Base, Missile Alert Facility Os…
Today11 recent
Cooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota2008Cooperstown, North DakotaCooperstown, North Dakota (2008)2008Cooperstown, North Dakota (2008)Cooperstown2008Cooperstown
On the map

Cooperstown Township on the map, 1961 to 1984

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

Cooperstown Township on the 1961 USGS mapCooperstown Township on the 1984 USGS map1961Cooperstown West 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 Cooperstown 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.

Griggs County Courthouse (c. 1892)
Retake this viewGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892), c. 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cooperstown Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility
Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Utilitarian1
Oscar-Zero Missile Alert FacilityUtilitarian

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

Help out

Start Cooperstown Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cooperstown Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGriggs County Courthouse (c. 1892): 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.

Cooperstown2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClearfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBall Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashburn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTyrol TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cooperstown Township’s history

What year was Cooperstown Township founded?

In 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 368 people here.

What is on the National Register in Cooperstown Township?

One place: the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility (listed 2008).

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 (12), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), 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.