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History · Atkinson Township

Atkinson Township’s post office opened in 1894, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Atkinson Township began

When was Atkinson Township founded?

1894

The Atkinson Township post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Atkinson (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 400132 years
Founding year: the first Atkinson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Atkinson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Atkinson 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

Atkinson Township, in brief

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

Atkinson is an unincorporated community in Atkinson Township, Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located between Cloquet and Mahtowa at the intersection of Carlton County Road 61 and County Road 144. Interstate 35 and State Highway 210 (MN 210) are nearby. Atkinson is located 8 miles southwest of Cloquet.

Its first post office opened in 1894. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 406 in 2010, 400 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Atkinson Township, 1894 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Atkinson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1956Post officeThe Atkinson post office closes
  5. 1956On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Atkinson Township on the map, 1956 to 1980

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

Atkinson Township on the 1956 USGS mapAtkinson Township on the 1980 USGS map1956Barnum 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 Atkinson Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Atkinson Township

Nobody well known was born in Atkinson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jessica LangeAmerican actress · b. 1949
Barbara PaytonAmerican actress · b. 1927
Karson KuhlmanAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1995
D
Derek PlanteAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1971
C
Corey MillenAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1964
Clarence LarsonScientist · b. 1909
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Atkinson
Gone or out of use
AtkinsonlocaleAtkinson Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Atkinson Township
BethelSalem

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.

Mahtowa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTwin Lakes TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Atkinson Township’s history

What year was Atkinson Township founded?

The Atkinson Township post office opened in 1894, 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 →
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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 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.