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C−History
History · Alexandria Township

Alexandria Township dates to 1858

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #201 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Alexandria Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1880.

1858founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alexandria Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alexandria Township began

When was Alexandria Township founded?

1858

Alexandria Township dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,355 in 18802020 census: 2,964168 years

How historic is Alexandria Township?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alexandria Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alexandria Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #201 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alexandria Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±3.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 26%

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alexandria Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1858.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Alexandria Township’s past

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

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1908.
★ What stands out · By decade

Alexandria Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s17 items
First Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minnesota - DPLA - 521a6e02107b59854ea3a1c9680d77c51880–1940First Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minnesota - DPLA - …Alexandria, Douglas County, MN 18811881Alexandria, Douglas County, MN 1881Three Havens - Alexandria, Minn1907Three Havens - Alexandria, MinnGeneva Beach1907Geneva BeachHotel Blake - Three Havens. Alexandria, Minn1907Hotel Blake - Three Havens. Alexandria, MinnLake Mary driveway1907Lake Mary drivewayGeneva Beach lake front1907Geneva Beach lake frontStony Point, Lake Ida1907Stony Point, Lake IdaLaunching on Lake Darling1907Launching on Lake DarlingFishing in Lake Mary1907Fishing in Lake MaryAt Stony Point, Lake Ida1907At Stony Point, Lake IdaHotel Blake1908Hotel BlakeLake Carlos1908Lake CarlosLake Victoria1908Lake VictoriaLake Burgan1908Lake BurganLake Darling Creek - Alexandria, Minn1908Lake Darling Creek - Alexandria, MinnFishing in Lake Burgan1908Fishing in Lake Burgan
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Alexandria Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alexandria Township.

Read it all →

First settled in 1858, it was named after brothers Alexander and William Kinkead from Maryland. The form of the name alludes to Alexandria, Egypt, a center of learning and civilization.

The village of Alexandria was incorporated February 20, 1877. Its city charter was adopted in 1908, and it was incorporated as a city in 1909. W. E. Hicks was pivotal to the town's early development. He purchased the townsite in 1868 and established a mill, hotel, newspaper, and store. He donated property for a courthouse, jail, and two churches: Methodist and Congregational.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alexandria Township, 1858 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858
    FoundingAlexandria Township is established
  3. 1880In the archiveFirst Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minnesota - DPLA - 521a6e02107b59854ea3a1c9680d77c5
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907In the archiveThree Havens - Alexandria, Minn
  6. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Alexandria Township on the map, 1966 to 1994

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

Alexandria Township on the 1966 USGS mapAlexandria Township on the 1979 USGS mapAlexandria Township on the 1994 USGS map1966Alexandria East 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 Alexandria Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

First Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minnesota - DPLA - 521a6e02107b59854ea3a1c9680d77c5
Retake this viewFirst Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minnesota - DPLA - 521a6e02107b59854ea3a1c9680d77c5, 1880–1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alexandria Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Alexandria Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,0001880190019201940196019802000202014,335

Grew from 1,355 people in 1880 to 14,335 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Alexandria Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFirst Baptist Church, Alexandria, Minne…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Alexandria8 historic placesB+Osakis TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNelsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarlos Township3 historic placesBHudson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLa Grand TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Alexandria Township’s history

What year was Alexandria Township founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 1,355 people here.

How does Alexandria Township rank for history?

Alexandria Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #201 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Alexandria Township?

6% of Alexandria Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1998.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (15), Wikidata (1), 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.