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History · Painted Woods Township

Painted Woods Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Painted Woods Township began

When was Painted Woods Township founded?

1879

The Painted Woods Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Painted Woods (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 114147 years
Founding year: the first Painted Woods Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Painted Woods 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 Painted Woods Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Painted Woods Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Painted Woods Township, in brief

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

Painted Woods Township is a township in Burleigh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 114 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 118 to 114 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Painted Woods Township, 1879 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Painted Woods post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920Post officeThe Painted Woods post office closes
  5. 1950On 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

Painted Woods Township on the map, 1950 to 1966

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

Painted Woods Township on the 1950 USGS mapPainted Woods Township on the 1966 USGS map1950Wilton sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Painted Woods Township

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

See all →
L
Leslie BibbAmerican actress · b. 1973
John HoevenAmerican banker and politician · b. 1957
Kent ConradAmerican politician · b. 1948
Ed Schafer29th United States Secretary of Agriculture · b. 1946
P
Paula BroadwellAmerican writer, academic, and anti-terrorism p… · b. 1972
Bruce PetersonAmerican test pilot · b. 1933
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Painted Woods, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Browns HotellocalePainted Woods Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Glenview TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEcklund TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Painted Woods Township’s history

What year was Painted Woods Township founded?

The Painted Woods Township post office opened in 1879, 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 →
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 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.