The story
Read it all →How Bergen Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bergen Township.
Bergen Township was named after the city of Bergen in Norway.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bergen Township
Bergen Township’s post office opened in 1867, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1860.
1867first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Bergen Township began
When was Bergen Township founded?
1867
The Bergen Township post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bergen (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 133 in 18602020 census: 910159 years
Founding year: the first Bergen Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bergen 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 Bergen Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bergen Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Bergen Township, census by census
Peaked at 1,215 in 1890; 910 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bergen Township’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Bergen Township, 1867 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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
Bergen Township on the map, 1958 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bergen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Glencoe 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 Bergen Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bergen Township
Nobody well known was born in Bergen Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Another post office, Bergen, opened and closed inside today’s town.
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bergen Township
Bergan TownshipChurch of GodLester Prairie CityLutheranSaint PaulSaint PeterSwedish LutheranTownship
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.
Camden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHelen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRich Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWinsted TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Bergen Township’s history
What year was Bergen Township founded?
The Bergen Township post office opened in 1867, 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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.