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History · Guelph Township

Guelph Township’s post office opened in 1872

Most of Guelph Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1890 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Guelph Township began

When was Guelph Township founded?

1872

The Guelph Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Guelph (1872), Clear Dale (1877) and Portland (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 151154 years
Founding year: the first Guelph Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Guelph 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 Guelph Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18903 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1985. Watch Guelph Township change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Guelph Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Guelph Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Guelph 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

Guelph Township on the map, 1890 to 1985

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

Guelph Township on the 1890 USGS mapGuelph Township on the 1965 USGS mapGuelph Township on the 1985 USGS map1890Wellington 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 Guelph Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Guelph
1872–1902
Clear Dale
1877–1900
Portland
1886–1940
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Portland
Gone or out of use
Ashton Northwest Oil FieldoilfieldBadger Creek Oil FieldoilfieldBitter Creek Oil FieldoilfieldClear DalelocaleGuelphlocaleGuelph Oil FieldoilfieldPortland Oil FieldoilfieldPortland South Oil Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Guelph Township
Forest Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Guelph Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Guelph Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 184 to 151 (-18%).

Timeline

Guelph Township, 1872 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Guelph post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Clear Dale post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Portland post office opens
  5. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Clear Dale post office closes
  8. 1902Post officeThe Guelph post office closes
  9. 1940Post officeThe Portland post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

South Haven TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreene TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Guelph Township’s history

What year was Guelph Township founded?

The Guelph Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.