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History · Stanley Township

Half of Stanley Township’s homes were built after 1993

Most of Stanley Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1895 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stanley Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Stanley 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Stanley Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stanley Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTheatre. Stanley, North Dakota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Riceville
1881–1884
Wild Rice
1884–1970
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint BenedictWild Rice
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Stanley Township
Holy Cross Cemetery SouthHoly Cross MissionSaint BenedictSalem Lutheran

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

The story so far

Stanley Township, in brief

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

Stanley Township is a township in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 931 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Wild Rice is located in Stanley Township.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,218 to 931 (-24%).

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

Timeline

Stanley Township, 1881 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Riceville post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Riceville post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Wild Rice post office opens
  5. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1937In the archiveTheatre. Stanley, North Dakota
  8. 1970Post officeThe Wild Rice post office closes
By decade

Stanley Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Theatre. Stanley, North Dakota1937Theatre. Stanley, North DakotaDrug store. Stanley, North Dakota1937Drug store. Stanley, North Dakota
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
A barren-brown late fall scene along the White Earth River near Stanley, North Dakota2021A barren-brown late fall scene along the White Earth …
On the map

Stanley Township on the map, 1895 to 1985

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

Stanley Township on the 1895 USGS mapStanley Township on the 1985 USGS map1895Fargo 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 Stanley Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Theatre. Stanley, North Dakota
Retake this viewTheatre. Stanley, North Dakota, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stanley Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Stanley Township

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

See all →
Jake HagerFormer american professional wrestler and mixed… · b. 1982
Bobby VeeAmerican singer · b. 1943
W
William H. GassAmerican fiction writer, critic, philosophy pro… · b. 1924
CariDee EnglishAmerican model · b. 1984
Dalton KnechtAmerican basketball player · b. 2001
D
Daniel ChongAmerican filmmaker · b. 1978
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fargo30 historic placesBHoraceIts storyC−Pleasant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrontierIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBriarwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarren TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Stanley Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (3), 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.