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–Not graded
History · Bear Park Township

47% of Bear Park Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on.

0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bear Park 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 Bear Park Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bear Park Township’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear Park Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear Park 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

Bear Park Township, in brief

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

Bear Park Township is a township in Norman County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. Bear Park Township was organized in 1881.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 192 to 172 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Bear Park Township, 1900 to 1966

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Ranum post office opens
  3. 1905Post officeThe Ranum post office closes
  4. 1966On 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.
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On the map

Bear Park Township on the map, 1966 to 1984

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

Bear Park Township on the 1966 USGS mapBear Park Township on the 1984 USGS map1966Ranum sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bear Park Township

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

See all →
Jan NarvesonCanadian philosopher · b. 1936
A
Arlo BrunsbergAmerican baseball player · b. 1940
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Nicholas SpaethAmerican politician · b. 1950
A
Austin WalkerAmerican politician · b. 1883
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Nels WoldUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1895
H
Hector Ames HansonAmerican politician – Minnesota -House 1941-44 … · b. 1904
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
RanumRindal
Gone or out of use
Ranum Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bear Park Township
Faaberg Norwegian LutheranNorman LutheranZion Norwegian Lutheran

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.

Bejou TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSundal TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaukon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bear Park 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.