The story
Read it all →How Kenmare Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Kenmare Township.
Kenmare was platted in 1897. The city most likely was named after Kenmare, in Ireland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Kenmare Township
Kenmare Township dates to 1897
Most of Kenmare Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1910.
1897founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Kenmare Township began
When was Kenmare Township founded?
1897
Kenmare Township dates its founding to 1897 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 1,437 in 19102020 census: 116129 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
What stands out about Kenmare Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · People over time
Kenmare Township, census by census
Peaked at 1,712 in 1950; 961 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kenmare Township’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Kenmare Township, 1897 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1897FoundingKenmare Township is established
- 20th century
- 1910
In the archiveKenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1 - 1948
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,712
By decade
Kenmare Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s9 items
1910Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
1910Kenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
1910Kenmare - N.D., fire fighters
1910Fire Fighters
1910Kenmare Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
1910Hose Co. No. 1
1910Hose Co. No. 2
1910Hook and Ladder Co
1912Harvesting J.A. Englund's 400 Acre Field of Winter Rye1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumToday2 recent
2015
2015On the map
Kenmare Township on the map, 1948 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kenmare Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Kenmare sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kenmare 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.
Retake this viewKenmare (North Dakota) Chemical Engine Co. No. 1, 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kenmare Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Places that used to be
Old burying grounds
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kenmare Township
LakeviewRose HillSaint Agnes Catholic
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Kenmare Township’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Elmdale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDenmark TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSauk Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Kenmare Township’s history
What year was Kenmare Township founded?
In 1897, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1910 counted 1,437 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.