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History · Lake Ibsen Township

Lake Ibsen Township’s post office opened in 1886

Below: maps from 1957 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: USGS · Public domain
Quick answers

How Lake Ibsen Township began

When was Lake Ibsen Township founded?

1886

The Lake Ibsen Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lake Ibsen (1886) and Niles (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 14140 years
Founding year: the first Lake Ibsen Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lake Ibsen 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 Lake Ibsen Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lake Ibsen Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Ibsen Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Ibsen 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 and burying grounds

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

Lake Ibsen
1886–1887
Niles
1898–1905
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Niles
1cemetery inside Lake Ibsen Township
Wilmerth

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

The story so far

Lake Ibsen Township, in brief

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

Lake Ibsen is a small lake near Leeds in Benson County, North Dakota. The stream Little Coulee flows from Hurricane Lake, through Lake Ibsen, to Silver Lake. Lake Ibsen got its name from Norwegian settlers in the 1850s who named it after Henrik Ibsen. The Lake Ibson township is located nearby.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 23 to 14 (-39%).

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

Timeline

Lake Ibsen Township, 1886 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Lake Ibsen post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Lake Ibsen post office closes
  4. 1898Post officeThe Niles post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Post officeThe Niles post office closes
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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On the map

Lake Ibsen Township on the map, 1957 to 1985

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

Lake Ibsen Township on the 1957 USGS mapLake Ibsen Township on the 1985 USGS map1957Comstock 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 Lake Ibsen Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

McClellan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNormania TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeeds TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeaver Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeedsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Ibsen Township’s history

What year was Lake Ibsen Township founded?

The Lake Ibsen Township post office opened in 1886, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.