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History · Spiritwood Township

Spiritwood Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Spiritwood Township began

When was Spiritwood Township founded?

1879

The Spiritwood Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 86147 years
Founding year: the first Spiritwood Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Spiritwood 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 Spiritwood Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18973 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1986. Watch Spiritwood Township change.Old housesHalf of Spiritwood Township’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spiritwood Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spiritwood 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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On the map

Spiritwood Township on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Spiritwood Township on the 1897 USGS mapSpiritwood Township on the 1970 USGS mapSpiritwood Township on the 1986 USGS map1897Eckelson sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story so far

Spiritwood Township, in brief

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

Spiritwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. An unincorporated community, it was designated as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program on March 31, 2010. It was not counted separately during the 2000 census, but was included in the 2010 census. As of the 2020 census, Spiritwood had a population of 29. It lies east of the city of Jamestown, the county seat of Stutsman County. Although it is unincorporated community, it has a post office, with the ZIP code 58481. A intense tornado on June 20, 2025 which would be part of a significant tornado outbreak that was also responsible for a EF5 tornado 2 hours lat…

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 73 to 86 (+18%).

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

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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Famous people

Famous people close to Spiritwood Township

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

See all →
Peggy LeeAmerican singer · b. 1920
Louis L'AmourAmerican novelist and short story writer · b. 1908
R
Rodney StarkAmerican sociologist of religion · b. 1934
Richard HiebAmerican astronaut · b. 1955
Jim RamstadAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1946
C
Charles Lewis CampAmerican paleontologist and zoologist · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
JohnsonSpiritwood
Gone or out of use
Barnes County North-Spiritwood Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Spiritwood Township
Spiritwood

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.

Bloom TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRose TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWinfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEckelson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Spiritwood Township’s history

What year was Spiritwood Township founded?

The Spiritwood 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 →
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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, 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.