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History · Leeds

Leeds’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

1887established
0old images & papers
15recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Leeds is a city in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 442 at the 2020 census. Leeds was founded in 1887 and named after Leeds, England. It was one of several sites along the Great Northern Railway's transcontinental route between Devils Lake and Minot that were named after places in England (the others were Berwick, Norwich, Penn, Rugby, Surrey, Tunbridge, and York).

Leeds was established in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 427 to 442 (+4%). Half of its homes were built before 1971.

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

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Leeds’s collection

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

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

Famous people close to Leeds

See all 1 →
Alfred OseAlfred OseBrinsmade · 9 mi
By decade

Leeds, 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
Today15 photos
A tree line, useful as a windbreak, near a Leeds, North Dakota, icy lakeLOCA tree line, useful as a windbreak, near a Leeds, North Dak…2021Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008Leeds, North DakotaCommonsLeeds, North Dakota2008
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Leeds is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Leeds has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Pierson Farm in Beaver, 6.6 miles away.

Leeds and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Leeds. Tap a dot.
Pierson FarmGrace Episcopal ChurchBenson County CourthouseTowner County CourthouseTowner County Fairgrounds Pavilion

Closest to Leeds

Pierson FarmBeaver · Building6.6miGrace Episcopal ChurchMinnewaukan · Building17.1miBenson County CourthouseMinnewaukan · Building17.2miTowner County CourthouseCando · Building17.6miTowner County Fairgrounds PavilionCando · Building17.9mi

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. Pierson Farm’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Leeds?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Leeds’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
📜 Leeds📜 Lake Ibsen📜 Beaver📜 York

From Wikimedia Commons (14) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Leeds, NDView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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