The story
Read it all →How Barber Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Barber Township.
Barber Township was organized in 1864, and named for Chauncey Barber, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Barber Township
Barber Township’s post office opened in 1866, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1955 on.
1866first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Barber Township began
When was Barber Township founded?
1866
The Barber Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Barber (1866), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 248160 years
Founding year: the first Barber Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Barber Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Barber Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barber Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Barber Township, 1866 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1866Post officeThe Barber post office opens
- 1878Post officeThe Barber post office closes
- 20th century
- 1955
On 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 albumOn the map
Barber Township on the map, 1955 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Barber Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Bricelyn sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Barber Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Barber Township
Nobody well known was born in Barber Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Barber, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Martin Landing Stripairport
1cemetery inside Barber Township
Saint Marys
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.
Emerald TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalnut Lake Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLura TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrescott TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlue Earth City TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Barber Township’s history
What year was Barber Township founded?
The Barber Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, 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.