Grafton, North Dakota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Grafton City. It lies in ZIP code area 58237. The Survey maps it on the Grafton quadrangle. 4,170 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 830 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Grafton
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 5 records
Grafton State Schoollisted 1996
Strand Theatrelisted 2004
US Post Office-Graftonlisted 1989
Walsh County Courthouselisted 1985- Elmwoodlisted 1985
Population over time
3 figuresGrafton grew from 1,594 to 4,170 between 1890 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 1,594 | |
| 2010 | 4,284 | |
| 2020 | 4,170 | -114 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1943 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:62500
- 1952 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:24000
- 1967 USGS Thief River Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
11 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Grafton between 2005 and 2020, burning about 118 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | COUNTY ROAD 10 SWEENEY |
| 11 September 2019 | Smoking | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | COLLETTE TREE |
| 26 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 68TH AVE NE |
| 9 May 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | UNRUH |
| 15 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | CTY 9 1 MILE W |
| 11 May 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | TRUMAN THOMPSON |
| 6 November 2020 | Debris and open burning | 80 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | CTY 9 |
| 5 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | RAILROAD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 68 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Grafton in 68 storm reports between 1994 and 2020: 31 hail, 27 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2006 | Lightning | Grafton | 1 hurt | Lightning struck an apartment complex, causing roof and electrical-system damage to one apartment unit. A man who was working near the apartment unit was also struck, knocking him briefly unconscious. When he awoke, he reported numbness to the right side of his body and a severe headache. |
| August 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,300,000 | Strong winds caused widespread damage. Uprooted trees fell on and damaged cars. A hangar at the airport was destroyed damaging four airplanes. Other damage occurred to a 70 ft. trailer and to many homes. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $100,000 | Two potato warehouse roofs were blown off in Grafton. |
| June 2016 | Flash Flood | Grafton | $10,000 | Heavy rain flooded fields and farm access roads across several townships in central and eastern Walsh County. |
| July 2011 | Lightning | Grafton | $10,000 | A lightning strike was presumed to have been the source of a house fire. The time was estimated. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | A few large tree branches and limbs were broken down around the Grafton area. One tree limb fell across a parked pickup truck. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were blown down northeast of Grafton. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were damaged by the wind. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $500 | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $200 | Tree limbs were blown down. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Metal roofing and siding were blown off a building. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Several large trees were blown down, a fireworks tent was blown down, and a boat/trailer combination was blown over. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Multiple trees were snapped or uprooted in town. One north to south oriented building near highway 17 had its sheet metal roofing peeled back toward the east. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | A large tree was blown down. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Trees were blown down. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Grafton | - | The hail fell along county road 9. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | At least one large tree and several large tree branches were blown down in Grafton. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Four inch diameter tree branches were blown down. |
| July 2012 | Heavy Rain | Grafton | - | The heavy rain caused street flooding in Grafton. Pea size hail also fell. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | A group of power poles was blown over. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Extensive damage occurred in Grafton. More than 50 large trees were blown down, including some 60 to 70 foot tall evergreens. Five houses and multiple vehicles were damaged by falling trees. One trailer house had substantial damage from a tree falling on it. The elevator in town was damaged, commercial buildings had metal siding blown off, and five or six utility poles were blown down. Several speed limit signs were bent over. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Grafton | - | The tornado touched down near Grafton and tracked about six miles to the east. The tornado broke down numerous large tree limbs across the north part of Grafton and snapped off several large pine trees in the cemetery east of town. The tornado continued eastward along highway 17, severely damaging shelterbelts, tossing culvert sections, denting steel grain bins, and knocking down two power poles. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | A small metal shed was blown up onto the fencing near the cemetery. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Roofing material was blown off a potato warehouse on the south side of Grafton. |
| June 2005 | Tornado (F1) | Grafton | - | Trees in shelterbelts were snapped off at ground level. Peak wind speeds were estimated at 80 mph. The tornado continued into Pembina county. |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Grafton | - | Intersections were flooded in downtown Grafton. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Shingles were blown off a roof. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Large tree branches were blown down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | A large cottonwood tree was blown down. |
| May 2002 | Hail | Grafton | - | The hail covered the grass. |
| July 2002 | Flash Flood | Grafton | - | Street flooding was reported. |
| June 2000 | Flood | Grafton | - | 6 to 8 inches of rain fell across the Grafton area, causing some flooding problems across the city. Many streets flooded and several basements took on water. |
| August 1998 | Hail | Grafton | - | One inch hail fell at Auburn, ND. |
| August 1998 | Hail | Grafton | - | Baseball-sized hail fell at Oakwood, ND, breaking windows and damaging cars. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Flash Flood | Grafton | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Grafton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1772501 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1029194. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






