More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #15 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Most of New Town was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1981 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1953.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Town’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Town is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #15 of 23 in North Dakota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Town’s overall grade.
North Dakota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical North Dakota town has 2.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New Town’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1950.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about New Town’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1944, the United States Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1944, which authorized the construction of the Garrison Dam. The dam was planned to be the world's largest rolled-earth filled dam and would create the second-largest reservoir in the world to collect water for irrigation and regional water needs. It would form a lake 200 miles long, 14 miles wide in some places and have roughly 1,500 miles of shoreline. In order to make this dam and reservoir, the towns of Sanish, Elbowoods, Lucky Mound, Shell Creek, Nishu, Charging Eagle, Beaver Creek, Red Butte, Independence, and Van Hook had to be dissolved and the residents relocated before the area was flooded. A total of seven possible sites were inspected before the present site was chosen.
In 1950, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Town’s post office opened in 1953, and the census of 1960 counted 1,586 people here.
How does New Town rank for history?
New Town is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #15 of 23 in North Dakota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in New Town?
9% of New Town’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 2004.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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.
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