Akra Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Pembina County Pembina County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,844, and was estimated to be 6,588 in 2024, The county seat and the largest city is Cavalier. History For thousands of years, various i ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, United States.

History

Akra Township was organized in 1882, and was known as one of the "Icelandic Townships," due to its large population of

Icelanders Icelanders () are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the (parliament) met for th ...

who had settled here. Akra takes its name from

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, a town near

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. Akra Township was a "double township," spanning two full

survey township A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System and by Canada's Dominion Land Survey is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six survey miles (a ...

s. In 1888, the northern part of the township was separated and organized separately as Avon Township (now Advance Township).

Geography

Icelandic State Park Icelandic State Park is a public recreation area on the north shore of Lake Renwick, west of Cavalier in Akra Township, Pembina County, North Dakota. The state park encompasses more than , two hundred of which are wooded. The park features a ...

and the adjacent

Renwick Dam Renwick Dam (National ID # ND00054) is a dam in Akra Township, Pembina County, North Dakota, USA, in the northeastern corner of the state. The earthen dam was completed in 1962 at a height of and a length of at its crest. It impounds the Ton ...

and Lake Renwick are located in Akra Township.

References

Icelandic-American culture in North Dakota Townships in Pembina County, North Dakota Populated places established in 1882 Townships in North Dakota {{NorthDakota-geo-stub