Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Surrey Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Surrey Township

Surrey Township dates to 1900, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1960.

1900founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Surrey Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Surrey Township began

When was Surrey Township founded?

1900

Surrey Township dates its founding to 1900 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 309 in 19602020 census: 363126 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
The story

How Surrey Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Surrey Township.

Read it all →

Surrey was founded on June 18, 1900, and named after Surrey, England, by Great Northern Railway officials. It was one of several sites along the Great Northern's transcontinental route between Devils Lake and Minot that were named after places in England (the others were Berwick, Leeds, Norwich, Penn, Rugby, Tunbridge, and York).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Surrey Township, 1900 to 1940

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900
    FoundingSurrey Township is established
  3. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1940In the archiveSurrey, North Dakota
By decade

Surrey Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Surrey, North Dakota1940Surrey, North DakotaSurrey, North Dakota1940Surrey, North DakotaSurrey, North Dakota1940Surrey, North DakotaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Da…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Da…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Dakota1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Surrey, North Da…
1950s–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
Today2 recent
A grain truck awaits loading at a line of silos near Surrey, North Dakota2021A grain truck awaits loading at a line of silos near …NDMap-doton-Surrey2004NDMap-doton-Surrey
On the map

Surrey Township on the map, 1929 to 1979

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

Surrey Township on the 1929 USGS mapSurrey Township on the 1949 USGS mapSurrey Township on the 1979 USGS map1929Sawyer sheet · 1:62,500

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

Surrey, North Dakota
Retake this viewSurrey, North Dakota, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Surrey Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40019601980200020201,357

Grew from 309 people in 1960 to 1,357 in 2020, 4 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Surrey Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

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

History across the town line

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

SurreyIts storyDMaryland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorwich TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNedrose Township1 historic placeCKottke Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSundre TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Surrey Township’s history

What year was Surrey Township founded?

In 1900, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 309 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 (1), the Library of Congress (7), 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.