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History · Askov

Askov’s post office opened in 1909, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the Partridge Township Hall and the Peter P. Kilstofte Farmstead. Its Register listings are the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the Partridge Township Hall and the Peter P. Kilstofte Farmstead. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1920.

1909first post office
3on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Askov began

When was Askov founded?

1909

The Askov post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1918. Another post office, Partridge (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 242 in 19202020 census: 331117 years
Founding year: the first Askov post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1918.The full story ↓

What stands out about Askov’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 Askov are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Askov’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Askov’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Askov’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

How Askov came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Askov.

Read it all →

The village was originally within the lands of the village of Partridge, at a stop far outside the original village along Great Northern Railway; here a post office was set up, called Partridge from 1889 to 1909, before changing its name to Askov in 1909. Most of the original village of Partridge was destroyed in the 1894 Hinckley fire. The immigrants to the Danish "colony" of Askov were nationalistic Lutheran followers of the theologian and cultural leader N. F. S. Grundtvig. Danish immigrants had previously been mostly economic migrants fleeing poverty, but the first migrants to Askov were almost all Grundvigian Danes from elsewhere in the U.S. The Dansk Folkesamfund (Danish Peoples Society) was founded in 1887 by Svend Hersleb Grundtvig, N. F. S. Grundtvig's son, to conserve Danish social heritage and promote immigration to the U.S. The Dansk Folkesamfund, with help from the railroad…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Askov, 1889 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Partridge post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909Post officeThe Partridge post office closes
  5. 1909Post officeThe Askov post office opens
  6. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Askov, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Peter-Kilstofte-Farmstead-Askov-MN2014Peter-Kilstofte-Farmstead-Askov-MNMILW 261 Askov MN May 12 2013x42013MILW 261 Askov MN May 12 2013x4Partridge Twp Hall2008Partridge Twp HallAskovsign2007AskovsignMNMap-doton-Askov2005MNMap-doton-Askov
On the map

Askov on the map, 1961 to 1981

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

Askov on the 1961 USGS mapAskov on the 1981 USGS map1961Sandstone sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

3 historic places in Askov

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Bethlehem Lutheran ChurchPartridge Township HallPeter P. Kilstofte Farmstead
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungaloid1
Bethlehem Lutheran ChurchBuilding
Partridge Township HallBuilding
Peter P. Kilstofte FarmsteadBungaloid

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

People over time

Askov, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 387

Between 242 and 387 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Askov’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Partridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Partridge
1889–1909
Askov
1909–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Askov
Bethlehem Lutheran Church

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

Questions about Askov’s history

What year was Askov founded?

The Askov post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1918.

What is on the National Register in Askov?

Three places: the Bethlehem Lutheran Church (listed 1980), the Partridge Township Hall (1980) and the Peter P. Kilstofte Farmstead (1980).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.