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History · Rhame Township

Rhame Township dates to 1908

Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1920.

1908founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: afiler from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Rhame Township began

When was Rhame Township founded?

1908

Rhame Township dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 302 in 19202020 census: 33118 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1909.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rhame 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 Rhame Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 356 in 1930; 158 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rhame Township’s collection

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

Rhame Township, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 356

Peaked at 356 in 1930; 158 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Rhame Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rhame Township.

Read it all →

Rhame was founded in 1908 as Petrel, North Dakota, when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, the "Milwaukee Road," established a station here. The post office was established February 8, 1908, but was changed to Rhame in June 1908, since Petrel was already in use for a railroad station in neighboring Adams County. The city and surrounding Rhame Township were named for Mitchell Davison Rhame (1846 – 1913), who was a district engineer for the railroad.

Rhame incorporated as a village in 1913. It became a city in 1967 after the North Dakota Legislature eliminated incorporation titles for villages and towns. As a result, all incorporated municipalities in North Dakota automatically adopted a city form of government.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rhame Township, 1908 to 1973

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingRhame Township is established
  3. 1909Post officeThe Ives post office opens
  4. 1916Post officeThe Ives post office closes
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 356
  6. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rhame Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Fort Dilts 20182018Fort Dilts 2018Rhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota entrance sign2007Rhame, North Dakota entrance signRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North DakotaRhame, North Dakota2007Rhame, North Dakota
On the map

Rhame Township on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Rhame Township on the 1973 USGS mapRhame Township on the 1981 USGS map1973Rhame 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 Rhame Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ives
1cemetery inside Rhame Township
Tuttle

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.

Adelaide TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrawford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rhame Township’s history

What year was Rhame Township founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rhame Township’s post office opened in 1909, and the census of 1920 counted 302 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 (9), 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.