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History · Center Township

27% of Center Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Center Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Center Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Center Township change.Old housesHalf of Center Township’s homes were built before 1953.
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Start Center Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Center Township on the map, 1889 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Center Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Center Township on the 1889 USGS mapCenter Township on the 1891 USGS mapCenter Township on the 1966 USGS mapCenter Township on the 1985 USGS map1889Larned sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Center Township.

The story

How Center Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Center Township.

Read it all →

Center Township was established in 1874. The first settlers in Center Township were George W. Cooley and Sarah F. Butler, who settled there in April 1876. La Crosse Township (now part of La Crosse-Brookdale Township) was created from part of Center Township in 1877.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Banner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLa Crosse-Brookdale Township2 historic placesAConkling TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Center Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.