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History · Alta Vista Township

Alta Vista Township’s post office opened in 1876, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alta Vista Township began

When was Alta Vista Township founded?

1876

The Alta Vista Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Alta Vista (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 163150 years
Founding year: the first Alta Vista Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Alta Vista 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 Alta Vista Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Alta Vista Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alta Vista Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Alta Vista Township, in brief

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

Alta Vista Township is a township in Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 163 at the 2020 census. Alta Vista Township was named for its lofty elevation, the name being derived from Latin and meaning "high view".

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 175 to 163 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Alta Vista Township, 1876 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Alta Vista post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Alta Vista post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1967On 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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On the map

Alta Vista Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Alta Vista Township on the 1967 USGS mapAlta Vista Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Porter SW 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 Alta Vista Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Alta Vista, opened and closed inside today’s town.

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alta Vista Township
Alta VistaPorter

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.

Limestone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarble TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEidsvold TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPorterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWergeland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alta Vista Township’s history

What year was Alta Vista Township founded?

The Alta Vista Township post office opened in 1876, 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 →
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). 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.