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History · Appleton Township

Appleton Township dates to 1872, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Gethsemane Episcopal Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1880.

1872founded
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Appleton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Appleton Township began

When was Appleton Township founded?

1872

Appleton Township dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 400 in 18802020 census: 193154 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Appleton 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,871 in 2000; 1,392 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Appleton Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Appleton Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe old mill: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 99 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Pomme de Terre RiverAppleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene19082007
Appleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river sceneMatched from the two captions
People over time

Appleton Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,871

Peaked at 2,871 in 2000; 1,392 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Appleton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Appleton Township.

Read it all →

Appleton was laid out in 1872, and named after the founder ´s birthplace in Appleton, Wisconsin. A post office has been in operation at Appleton since 1873. A flour mill on the banks of the Pomme de Terre River was in operation from 1872 until the late 1960’s. The Hastings and Dakota Railroad (out of Milwaukee, WI) was extended from Benson, Minnesota to Appleton in 1872.

Appleton was incorporated in 1881. Gethsemane Episcopal Church, on North Hering Street at Snelling Avenue, was built in 1879 like Appleton City Hall and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Appleton Township, 1872 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingAppleton Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveThe old mill
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,871
By decade

Appleton Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
The old mill1908The old millAppleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene1908Appleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene
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
Today7 recent
Agriculture Grain Elevator - Highway 72017Agriculture Grain Elevator - Highway 7Appleton MN2010Appleton MNPommeDeTerre Rocks and Gifts2008PommeDeTerre Rocks and GiftsAppleton MN NG Sherman22008Appleton MN NG Sherman2Appleton MN NG Sherman2008Appleton MN NG ShermanPomme de Terre River2007Pomme de Terre RiverPomme de Terre Riv2007Pomme de Terre Riv
On the map

Appleton Township on the map, 1958 to 1985

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

Appleton Township on the 1958 USGS mapAppleton Township on the 1985 USGS map1958Appleton 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 Appleton Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Appleton Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2011
Gethsemane Episcopal Church
Gethsemane Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Gothic Revival1
Gethsemane Episcopal ChurchLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Telford Airportairport

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.

Hantho TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEdison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAkron TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShible TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Appleton Township’s history

What year was Appleton Township founded?

In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 400 people here.

What is on the National Register in Appleton Township?

One place: the Gethsemane Episcopal Church (listed 2011).

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 Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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.