History · Grail

Grail’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Grail. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from the U.S. Census

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 39 to 52 (+33%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grail yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Be one of the first

Start Grail’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
By decade

Grail, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Grail is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Grail has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Sandstone School in Watford City, 22.5 miles away.

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Sandstone School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Grail?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Grail’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Grail, NDMcKenzie CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01