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History · Westphalia Township

Westphalia Township’s post office opened in 1880, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1930.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Westphalia Township began

When was Westphalia Township founded?

1880

The Westphalia Township post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cherry Mound (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 326 in 19302020 census: 355146 years
Founding year: the first Westphalia Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Westphalia 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 Westphalia Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18855 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1990. Watch Westphalia Township change.Old housesHalf of Westphalia Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westphalia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westphalia 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

Westphalia Township on the map, 1885 to 1990

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

Westphalia Township on the 1885 USGS mapWestphalia Township on the 1894 USGS mapWestphalia Township on the 1966 USGS mapWestphalia Township on the 1985 USGS mapWestphalia Township on the 1990 USGS map1885Garnett 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 Westphalia Township.

The story

How Westphalia Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westphalia Township.

Read it all →

Westphalia was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was originally built up mainly by Germans.

The first photograph of a tornado was taken in Westphalia on April 26, 1884.

The first post office in Westphalia was established in June 1880.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Westphalia Township, 1875 to 1885

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Cherry Mound post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Cherry Mound post office closes
  4. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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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People over time

Westphalia Township, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 326

Between 128 and 326 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Westphalia Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Cherry Mound, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Westphalia Township
Saint Teresa's

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Welda TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndian Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMont IdaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAvon Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townReeder Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Westphalia Township’s history

What year was Westphalia Township founded?

The Westphalia Township post office opened in 1880, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.