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History · Hope Township

The history of Hope Township

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hope Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Hope 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 909 in 1910; 272 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hope Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hope Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 909

Peaked at 909 in 1910; 272 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Hope Township, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 24 to 17 (-29%).

Timeline

Hope Township, 1866 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866In the archiveThe Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (Dakota Territory), the end of the Manatoba (Manito…
  3. 1887Post officeThe Vang post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 909
  6. 1935Post officeThe Vang post office closes
  7. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hope Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
The Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (Dakota Territory), the end of the Manatoba (Manitoba) west branch in August 1882…1866–1920The Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (Dakota Territo…
Today11 recent
Hope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope, North Dakota2009Hope, North DakotaHope2009Hope
On the map

Hope Township on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

Hope Township on the 1969 USGS mapHope Township on the 1985 USGS map1969Olga NW 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 Hope 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.

The Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (Dakota Territory), the end of the Manatoba (Manitoba) west branch in August 1882…
Retake this viewThe Grand Central Hotel at Hope, D.T. (Dakota Territory), the end of the Manatoba (Manitoba) west branch in August 1882…, 1866–1920

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Vang
1cemetery inside Hope Township
Vang

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.

Fremont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLoam TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Hope TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth Olga TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hope 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 (12), 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.