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History · Ball Bluff Township

12% of Ball Bluff Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on.

0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Ball Bluff 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 Ball Bluff Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Ball Bluff Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Ball Bluff Township, in brief

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

Ball Bluff is an unincorporated community in Ball Bluff Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located between Jacobson and McGregor along State Highway 65 (MN 65). The Mississippi River flows nearby. Nearby places include Jacobson, Swan River, Libby, and Palisade. Ball Bluff is 10 miles south of Swan River, and 26 miles north of McGregor. The center of Ball Bluff is generally considered at the junction of Highway 65 and 650th Lane / Carmel Church Road. The community is located within the Savanna State Forest in the northeast portion of Aitkin County.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 278 to 272 (-2%).

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

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.

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On the map

Ball Bluff Township on the map, 1953 to 1994

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

Ball Bluff Township on the 1953 USGS mapBall Bluff Township on the 1994 USGS map1953Duluth sheet · 1:250,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ball Bluff Township

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

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Kleggie HermsenAmerican basketball player · b. 1923
E
Eddie RogersAmerican football player · b. 1876
Frank JudeMajor League Baseball outfielder · b. 1884
J
John Raymond YlitaloAmerican ambassador · b. 1916
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ball BluffJacobson
Gone or out of use
Mississippilocale
1cemetery inside Ball Bluff Township
Ball Bluff

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.

Cornish TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSago TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ball Bluff Township’s history

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.