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C−History
History · Aurdal Township

Aurdal Township dates to 1870

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Aurdal Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1915 on.

1870founded
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Aurdal Township began

When was Aurdal Township founded?

1870

Aurdal Township dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1870.

2020 census: 1,540156 years

How historic is Aurdal Township?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1870.
History grade

What drives Aurdal Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aurdal Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurdal Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±2.1) · 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 24%
NewerOlder

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 Aurdal 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 (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.

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 Aurdal 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 Aurdal Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Aurdal Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Aurdal Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Aurdal 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
Places that used to be

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

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wall Lake
1870–1906
Aurdal
1871–1901
Mill Park
1885–1901
Drexel
1903–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wall Lake
Gone or out of use
Drexel Post Officepost officeMill Park Post Officepost officeSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 143schoolSchool Number 247schoolSchool Number 80schoolWall LakelocaleWall Lake Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aurdal Township
AurdalKongsbergStavanger Lutheran ChurchSwedish Baptist ChurchVang

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

The story so far

Aurdal Township, in brief

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

Aurdal Township is a township in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,540 at the 2020 census. Aurdal Township was organized in 1870, and named after Aurdal, in Norway.

Aurdal Township was established in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,450 to 1,540 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Aurdal Township, 1870 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingAurdal Township is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Wall Lake post office opens
  4. 1871Post officeThe Aurdal post office opens
  5. 1885Post officeThe Mill Park post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Post officeThe Aurdal post office closes
  8. 1901Post officeThe Mill Park post office closes
  9. 1906Post officeThe Wall Lake post office closes
  10. 1915On 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

Aurdal Township on the map, 1915 to 1973

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

Aurdal Township on the 1915 USGS mapAurdal Township on the 1973 USGS map1915Underwood 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 Aurdal Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Aurdal Township

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

See all →
Dave GoltzAmerican baseball player · b. 1949
R
Roger L. HansonAmerican politician · b. 1925
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fergus Falls13 historic placesB+Fergus Falls TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSverdrup Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDane Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFriberg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Aurdal Township’s history

What year was Aurdal Township founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Aurdal Township’s post office opened in 1870.

How does Aurdal Township rank for history?

Aurdal Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. 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 Aurdal Township?

7% of Aurdal Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1987.

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).

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.