Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hamlet Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Hamlet Township

47% of Hamlet Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1949 on.

0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

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

Start Hamlet Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamlet 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
The story

How Hamlet Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hamlet Township.

Read it all →

Hamlet was originally a railroad station on the Great Northern Railway, and was named Hankey in honor of the first postmaster, Frank Hankey.

The population peaked in 1930, with 219 residents in 1930. However, the community went into decline and by 1940, there were just 75 residents. By 1960, there were just 25 residents. The Hamlet post office closed in 1975.

Today there are only a handful of residents, some grain elevators, and the remains of the public school.

Hamlet is not to be confused with a town of the same name: Hamlet, LaMoure County, North Dakota.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Hamlet Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Hamlet, North Dakota-092009Hamlet, North Dakota-09Hamlet, North Dakota-082009Hamlet, North Dakota-08Hamlet, North Dakota-072009Hamlet, North Dakota-07Hamlet, North Dakota-062009Hamlet, North Dakota-06Hamlet, North Dakota-052009Hamlet, North Dakota-05Hamlet, North Dakota-042009Hamlet, North Dakota-04Hamlet, North Dakota-032009Hamlet, North Dakota-03Hamlet, North Dakota-022009Hamlet, North Dakota-02Hamlet, North Dakota-012009Hamlet, North Dakota-01
On the map

Hamlet Township on the map, 1949 to 1950

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

Hamlet Township on the 1949 USGS mapHamlet Township on the 1950 USGS map1949Mohall 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 Hamlet Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hamerly TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrandon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcKinney Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRoosevelt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrassland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hamlet Township’s history

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 (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.