15 Small Towns In North Dakota Where Everyone Knows Your Name

There are a lot of charming small towns in North Dakota. A lot of them are tight-knit communities where most people know each other and family names become part of the vernacular. The following itty bitty towns, however, are places where every single person definitely knows your name. These are the 15 tiniest towns in North Dakota where you and your neighbors would get to know each other very well because there's not a whole lot of people to know.

15. Ayr

This little town would definitely be one where everyone knows you because the population is only 17. It is located in Cass County and was founded in 1883. At its peak population, it was at just over 100 residents. Like most small towns in North Dakota, it has grain elevators and storage next to the railroad line that was built through it.

14. Gascoyne

The original name for this town was Fischbein, however, this name was only around for about a year after its founding. A member of the railroad that was being built through the town decided to rename it to Gascoyne due to the lignite coal found in the area. The population is just 16 people and has never exceeded 100 in all of its history.

13. Leith

This town was featured on national headlines for a while in 2012 due to the fact that someone was attempting to buy up all the land and drive people out to create a white nationalist community. That person has since left Leith due to protests against them as well as jail time and sold all of their land back to the city. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16.

12. Bantry

This small McHenry County town was founded in 1905 and was fairly well populated until the 1950s. After that, the population declined to its current number of just 15 residents.

11. Hannah

With a population of 15, Hannah comes in at 11th on the list. The name is not the girl's name you should focus on when referring to this town, however. A girl named Ethel Catherwood was born in Hannah. She was the first woman ever to win a gold medal in the high jump for the Olympics. She participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam, which was the first one to ever allow women athletes. Catherwood brought home the gold for Canada, the country which she was representing. The town is only a few miles from the Canadian border.

10. Kief

Just 14 residents live in Kief, a town named by the Ukrainian settlers after the city Kiev in Ukraine. It lies in McHenry County and is part of the Minot Micropolitan Statistical Area.

9. Venturia

At 13 residents, Venturia is the 9th smallest town in North Dakota. It was founded 115 years ago in McIntosh County. At peak population, there were over 250 residents.

8. Churchs Ferry

This town used to be much larger, but Devils Lake swallowed most of it up. Over 400 homes had to be relocated or were destroyed due to the rising waters of the lake. The remaining 12 residents are still in danger from the lake but voted to remain an incorporated town in 2012.

7. Hansboro

Hansboro also has a population of 12, but the name isn't after any company. It was named for a former North Dakota Legislature, Henry C. Hansbrough. It began as a railroad town in 1905.

6. Pillsbury

The name might make you think of a certain mascot for some biscuits, and maybe that is what it was named after. The town was founded almost 40 years after the Pillsbury Company was in Minneapolis. This Pillsbury, however, was founded in Barnes County, North Dakota. The reported population is 12.

5. Loraine

This pocket sized town also has a population of nine. Located in Renville County, Loraine is just a few miles from the Canadian border. It has always been fairly small and the population has never exceeded 100.

4. Perth

Perth held nine residents as of the 2010 census. The census taken in 1910 boasted over 200 hundred residents, but that number steadily declined over the years. During its heyday, Perth had its own newspaper, but it only ran for around six years.

3. Bergen

Tying in second for smallest towns with Grano is Bergen, which also has seven residents. The town is located in McHenry County, and it's not too far from Minot.

2. Grano

This little town has a population of just seven people. It was founded in 1905 along the Soo Line Railroad, like many North Dakotan towns. The name's origin for this town is unknown today, although multiple explanations exist.

1. Ruso

Ruso reported a population of only four at the last census. It is located in McLean County and is considered the place with the smallest population in the entire state. It was founded in 1906 and actually played a role in the 2014 Turkish film The Cut.

And I thought my town was small at around 100 residents! How many people live in your town? Discover even more of the smallest towns in North Dakota here!