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History · Langdon Township

Langdon Township dates to 1884

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1890.

1884founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Langdon Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Langdon Township began

When was Langdon Township founded?

1884

Langdon Township dates its founding to 1884 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 291 in 18902020 census: 34142 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Langdon 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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Langdon Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLangdon, N.D., City Council, 1894: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Langdon Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Langdon Township.

Read it all →

A post office has been in operation in Langdon since 1886. The city was named for Robert Bruce Langdon, a politician and railroad official.

On October 29, 1887, The Courier, an early Langdon newspaper, reported that Rosa Lake, Lemon, Olga, and Langdon were all vying for the position of county seat. Anecdotal stories tell of several settlers who succeeded in voting several times by simply changing their hats and coats. When all votes were tallied, it was found that Langdon had polled 301 votes, Olga 246, Rosa Lake 55, and Lemon 11. It was alleged that the Langdon precinct had cast 150 votes with a total of only 50 qualified voters. However, the county seat remained in Langdon.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Langdon Township, 1884 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884
    FoundingLangdon Township is established
  3. 1894In the archiveLangdon, N.D., City Council, 1894
  4. 20th century
  5. 1940In the archiveLangdon, North Dakota
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Langdon Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Langdon, N.D., City Council, 18941894Langdon, N.D., City Council, 1894
1900s–1930snothing 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 album
1940s2 items
Langdon, North Dakota1940Langdon, North DakotaHotel room. Langdon, North Dakota1940Hotel room. Langdon, North Dakota
1950s–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 album
Today15 recent
Langdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaLangdon, North Dakota2009Langdon, North DakotaCavalier County Courthouse2009Cavalier County Courthouse
On the map

Langdon Township on the map, 1970 to 1983

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

Langdon Township on the 1970 USGS mapLangdon Township on the 1983 USGS map1970Langdon West 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 Langdon 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.

Langdon, N.D., City Council, 1894
Retake this viewLangdon, N.D., City Council, 1894, 1894

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Langdon Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,335

Between 291 and 2,335 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Harvey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElgin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMount Carmel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth Dresden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Langdon Township’s history

What year was Langdon Township founded?

In 1884, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 291 people here.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.