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History · Minnewaukan

Minnewaukan dates to 1883, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Benson County Courthouse and the Grace Episcopal Church. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1900.

1883founded
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Minnewaukan began

When was Minnewaukan founded?

1883

Minnewaukan dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 432 in 19002020 census: 199143 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1883.

What stands out about Minnewaukan’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 Minnewaukan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 564 in 1920; 199 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Minnewaukan.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Minnewaukan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Minnewaukan’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
People over time

Minnewaukan, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 564

Peaked at 564 in 1920; 199 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Minnewaukan’s post office has been open since 1909. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hannaford
1883–1884
Minnewaukon
1884–1909
Minnewaukan
1909–today
18801950today

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

The story so far

Minnewaukan, in brief

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

Minnewaukan is a city in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. It serves as the county seat and is fourth largest city in the county, after Fort Totten, Leeds, and Maddock. The population was 199 at the 2020 census. Minnewaukan was founded in 1884.

Minnewaukan was established in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 224 to 199 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Minnewaukan, 1883 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingMinnewaukan is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Hannaford post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Hannaford post office closes
  5. 1884Post officeThe Minnewaukon post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909Post officeThe Minnewaukon post office closes
  8. 1909Post officeThe Minnewaukan post office opens
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 564
  10. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Minnewaukan, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Minnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota2009Minnewaukan, North DakotaMinnewaukan, North Dakota (2009)2009Minnewaukan, North Dakota (2009)
On the map

Minnewaukan on the map, 1953 to 1985

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

Minnewaukan on the 1953 USGS mapMinnewaukan on the 1971 USGS mapMinnewaukan on the 1985 USGS map1953Devils Lake sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Minnewaukan.

Every building

Minnewaukan, building by building, 1904–1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Minnewaukan fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Minnewaukan

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Benson County Courthouse
Benson County CourthouseGrace Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Richardsonian Romanesque1
Late Gothic Revival1
Benson County CourthouseRichardsonian Romanesque
All 2 listings
Grace Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1994

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Minnewaukan

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

See all →
Rick BergAmerican politician · b. 1959
L
Lois DelmoreAmerican politician · b. 1949

Questions about Minnewaukan’s history

What year was Minnewaukan founded?

In 1883, according to Wikidata. Minnewaukan’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1900 counted 432 people here.

What is on the National Register in Minnewaukan?

Two places: the Benson County Courthouse (listed 1978) and the Grace Episcopal Church (1994).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.