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History · Gilby Township

Gilby Township dates to 1887, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1960.

1887founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Gilby Township began

When was Gilby Township founded?

1887

Gilby Township dates its founding to 1887 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 281 in 19602020 census: 62139 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1888.

What stands out about Gilby 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 Gilby Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gilby Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Gilby Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilby Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bean
1888–1891
Honeyford
1892–1967
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Honeyford
Gone or out of use
Cronquist FieldairportGilbylocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gilby Township
Prairie HomeSaint Pauls Lutheran

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Gilby Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gilby Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gilby is a city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the Greater Grand Forks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 243 at the 2020 census. Gilby was founded in 1887.

Gilby Township was established in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 79 to 62 (-22%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Gilby Township, 1887 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingGilby Township is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Bean post office opens
  4. 1891Post officeThe Bean post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe Honeyford post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1967Post officeThe Honeyford post office closes
By decade

Gilby Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Gilby, North Dakota2006Gilby, North Dakota
On the map

Gilby Township on the map, 1926 to 1985

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

Gilby Township on the 1926 USGS mapGilby Township on the 1963 USGS mapGilby Township on the 1985 USGS map1926Ardoch 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 Gilby Township.

People over time

Gilby Township, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 283

Between 237 and 283 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lakeville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWheatfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMekinock TownshipIts storyDJohnstown TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gilby Township’s history

What year was Gilby Township founded?

In 1887, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gilby Township’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1960 counted 281 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 (1), 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.