| Official Name: | Ada Township, North Dakota |
| Settlement Type: | Township |
| Pushpin Map: | North Dakota |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Label: | Ada Township |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of North Dakota |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Dakota |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Dickey |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 93.2 |
| Area Land Km2: | 93.2 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.0 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 36.0 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 36.0 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 29 |
| Population Density Km2: | 0.3 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 0.8 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 419 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1375 |
| Coordinates: | 45.9869°N -98.3139°W |
| Area Code: | 701 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 38-00300[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1036744[3] |
Ada is a township in Dickey County, North Dakota, United States. Its population during the 2020 Census was 29,[1] down from 60 in 2000. Its population in 1900 was 232.[4]
Ada Township was first settled in the early 1880s. Originally part of Weston Township, which at the time covered two survey townships in Townships 129 and 130N, Range 61W.[5] Ada was organized around 1900 from the southern of the two townships and the northern one was renamed Kent Township.[4] [6]
The village of Silverleaf, built in 1887, is located 7 miles east of Ellendale, and was once the major population center in the township.[6] The town reported around 25 residents in the late 1910s,[7] and never seemed to exceed more than 50. It is little more than a ghost town today.[8]
The village served a flag station for the Great Northern Railroad. Two conflicting stories exist over the origin of the name. Some say it is for the silverberry bushes found in the area,[8] but others attribute the naming to a joke played by an early settler, Dan Keenan. Keenan reportedly removed the label from a tin of "Silverleaf" lard and nailed it to a boxcar parked at the station.[9]
John E. Skogland (1879 - 1940) was a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1925 to 1926.[6] [10]