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History · Wood Lake Township

Half of Wood Lake Township’s homes were built after 1976

Most of Wood Lake Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1928 on.

0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Wood Lake 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 Wood Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wood Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wood Lake 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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The story so far

Wood Lake Township, in brief

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

Wood Lake Township is a civil township in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 440. Wood Lake Township is the second most populous township in Benson County, after Mission Township.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 522 to 471 (-10%).

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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On the map

Wood Lake Township on the map, 1928 to 1994

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

Wood Lake Township on the 1928 USGS mapWood Lake Township on the 1931 USGS mapWood Lake Township on the 1950 USGS mapWood Lake Township on the 1975 USGS mapWood Lake Township on the 1994 USGS map1928Tokio 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 Wood Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wood Lake Township

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

See all →
William L. GuyAmerican politician · b. 1919
P
Phyllis FrelichAmerican actress · b. 1944
G
Glenn HansenAmerican basketball player · b. 1952
Grant NelsonAmerican basketball player · b. 2002
D
David Anthony KraftAmerican comic book writer, publisher and critic · b. 1952
L
Leigh GerdineArts patron, civic leader · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Tokio
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wood Lake Township
Bdecan PresbyterianDakotah Oyate Lutheran / Native American Cemetery - Tokio

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.

Warwick TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTwin Tree TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMission TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHillsdale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wood Lake Township’s history

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.