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History · Crystal Township

Crystal Township dates to 1879, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1900.

1879founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: afiler from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Crystal Township began

When was Crystal Township founded?

1879

Crystal Township dates its founding to 1879 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 385 in 19002020 census: 93147 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1885.The full story ↓

What stands out about Crystal 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 Crystal Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crystal Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crystal 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

How Crystal Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crystal Township.

Read it all →

Crystal was laid out in 1879. A post office has been in operation at Crystal since 1880.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crystal Township, 1879 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingCrystal Township is established
  3. 1885Post officeThe Stokesville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Stokesville post office closes
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Crystal Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Crystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2009Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2006Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2006Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota2006Crystal, North DakotaCrystal, North Dakota (2006)2006Crystal, North Dakota (2006)
On the map

Crystal Township on the map, 1944 to 1963

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

Crystal Township on the 1944 USGS mapCrystal Township on the 1963 USGS map1944Crystal sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crystal Township.

People over time

Crystal Township, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 429

Between 116 and 429 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Stokesville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Parktownlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Crystal Township
Saint Patricks CatholicStokesvilleWest Point

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Crystal1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGardar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElora TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDundee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPark TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Crystal Township’s history

What year was Crystal Township founded?

In 1879, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Crystal Township’s post office opened in 1885, and the census of 1900 counted 385 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), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.