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History · Powers Lake Township

Powers Lake Township dates to 1909, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1920.

1909founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Photo: In memoriam afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Powers Lake Township began

When was Powers Lake Township founded?

1909

Powers Lake Township dates its founding to 1909 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 251 in 19202020 census: 71117 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Powers Lake 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 Powers Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 633 in 1960; 385 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Powers Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Powers Lake 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
People over time

Powers Lake Township, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 633

Peaked at 633 in 1960; 385 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Powers Lake Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Powers Lake Township.

Read it all →

Sometime in the early 1890s, John J. Power and his family moved up the White Earth Valley and set up sheepfolds and a homestead on the South shore of a large lake. He maintained his ranch here for several years. In 1892 their daughter Margaret was born. Shortly thereafter, the Power family left the area, while Powers Lake remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Powers Lake Township, 1909 to 1960

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909
    FoundingPowers Lake Township is established
  3. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 633
By decade

Powers Lake Township, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Powers Lake, North Dakota-152009Powers Lake, North Dakota-15Powers Lake, North Dakota-142009Powers Lake, North Dakota-14Powers Lake, North Dakota-132009Powers Lake, North Dakota-13Powers Lake, North Dakota-122009Powers Lake, North Dakota-12Powers Lake, North Dakota-112009Powers Lake, North Dakota-11Powers Lake, North Dakota-102009Powers Lake, North Dakota-10Powers Lake, North Dakota-092009Powers Lake, North Dakota-09Powers Lake, North Dakota-082009Powers Lake, North Dakota-08Powers Lake, North Dakota-072009Powers Lake, North Dakota-07Powers Lake, North Dakota-062009Powers Lake, North Dakota-06Powers Lake, North Dakota-052009Powers Lake, North Dakota-05Powers Lake, North Dakota-042009Powers Lake, North Dakota-04Powers Lake, North Dakota-032009Powers Lake, North Dakota-03Powers Lake, North Dakota-022009Powers Lake, North Dakota-02Powers Lake, North Dakota-012009Powers Lake, North Dakota-01Country store powers lake north dakota 20092009Country store powers lake north dakota 2009American legion memorial building powers lake north dakota 20092009American legion memorial building powers lake north d…NDMap-doton-PowersLake2004NDMap-doton-PowersLake
On the map

Powers Lake Township on the map, 1953 to 1974

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

Powers Lake Township on the 1953 USGS mapPowers Lake Township on the 1974 USGS map1953Williston 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 Powers Lake Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sorkness TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPowers TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBicker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Powers Lake Township’s history

What year was Powers Lake Township founded?

In 1909, according to Wikidata. the census of 1920 counted 251 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.