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History · Akeley Township

Akeley Township dates to 1916, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1920.

1916founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Photo: S Carpenter at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Akeley Township began

When was Akeley Township founded?

1916

Akeley Township dates its founding to 1916 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 855 in 19202020 census: 559110 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Akeley 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 Akeley Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Akeley Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Akeley 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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The story

How Akeley Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Akeley Township.

Read it all →

The city of Akeley was incorporated on December 30, 1916. It was largely developed by a partnership between lumber magnate T. B. Walker and Healy C. Akeley, who formed the Red River Lumber Company in 1893. General settlement of Akeley began in 1895. After Walker built a sawmill in 1902, Akeley's development skyrocketed. The mill was once the largest in Minnesota. Walker had intended to build the mill in what later became Walker, Minnesota, but chose Akeley instead because of his wife's disapproval of the bars and brothels in the Walker area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Akeley Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Welcome sign2024Welcome signPost Office2024Post OfficeFire department2024Fire departmentBusinesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Hulet Avenue2024Businesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Hulet AvenueBusinesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Graceson Avenue, south side2024Businesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Graceson Aven…Businesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Graceson Avenue, north side2024Businesses, Lake County Scenic Byway at Graceson Aven…Business2024BusinessHubbard county MN 34 Akeley IMG 13132012Hubbard county MN 34 Akeley IMG 1313Akeley-Minnesota-Paul-Bunyan2007Akeley-Minnesota-Paul-Bunyan
On the map

Akeley Township on the map, 1972 to 1996

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

Akeley Township on the 1972 USGS mapAkeley Township on the 1996 USGS map1972Akeley sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Akeley Township, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 855

Between 393 and 855 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mantrap TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhite Oak TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShingobee Township1 historic placeC+Steamboat River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Akeley Township’s history

What year was Akeley Township founded?

In 1916, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1920 counted 855 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.