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History · Heil

Heil’s post office opened in 1911, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1980 on.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Heil began

When was Heil founded?

1911

The Heil post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 15115 years
Founding year: the first Heil post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Heil’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Heil’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 so far

Heil, in brief

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

Heil is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Grant County, North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Heil had a population of 15. Heil was initially named "Lawther" for founder William Lawther; after William Heil bought the community from Lawther, it was renamed to "Heil".

Its first post office opened in 1911. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 15 in 2010, 15 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Heil on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Heil.

Heil on the 1980 USGS map1980Heil 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 Heil.

Famous people

Famous people close to Heil

Nobody well known was born in Heil itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hilaire du BerrierAmerican-French aviator · b. 1906
K
Kirsten BaeslerPolitician
D
Donald SchaibleMember of North Dakota State Senate · b. 1957

Questions about Heil’s history

What year was Heil founded?

The Heil post office opened in 1911, 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 →
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.