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History · Scranton Township

Scranton Township dates to 1907

Most of Scranton Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1910.

1907founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Scranton Township began, and where its name came from

When was Scranton Township founded?

1907

Scranton Township dates its founding to 1907 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 214 in 19102020 census: 76119 years

How did Scranton Township get its name?

Scranton Township was named after Scranton, Pennsylvania because, like that city, it was located within a region of coal mining.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1907. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Scranton 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 Scranton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 415 in 1980; 258 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Scranton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Scranton 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

Scranton Township, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 415

Peaked at 415 in 1980; 258 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Scranton Township, in brief

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

Scranton is a city in Bowman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 258 at the 2020 census. Scranton was founded in 1907 along the Milwaukee Road rail line known as the Pacific Extension. It was named after Scranton, Pennsylvania because, like that city, it was located within a region of coal mining.

Scranton Township was established in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 67 to 76 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Scranton Township, 1907 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907
    FoundingScranton Township is established
  3. 1907Post officeThe Buffalo Springs post office opens
  4. 1955Post officeThe Buffalo Springs post office closes
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 415
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.

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On the map

Scranton Township on the map, 1969 to 1981

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

Scranton Township on the 1969 USGS mapScranton Township on the 1981 USGS map1969Scranton 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 Scranton Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Buffalo Springs
Gone or out of use
Fisher Fieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Scranton Township
Peace Lutheran Cemetery - ScrantonSacred Heart

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.

Fischbein TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhiting TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTalbot TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStillwater TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrainbelt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Scranton Township’s history

What year was Scranton Township founded?

In 1907, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Scranton Township’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1910 counted 214 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 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.