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History · Birch Township

Half of Birch Township’s homes were built after 1993

Most of Birch Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1900.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Birch 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 Birch Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1996. Watch Birch Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Birch Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Birch 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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People over time

Birch Township, census by census

01001900192019401960198020002020108 in 1920Low: 46

Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Birch Township’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Birch Township on the map, 1919 to 1996

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

Birch Township on the 1919 USGS mapBirch Township on the 1971 USGS mapBirch Township on the 1996 USGS map1919Rosy 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 Birch Township.

The story so far

Birch Township, in brief

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

Birch Township is a township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 103 as of the 2020 census. Birch Township was named for the canoe birch trees there from which Native Americans built canoes.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 118 to 103 (-13%).

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Birch Township

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

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Archie MarshekAmerican film editor · b. 1902
D
Douglas PikeAmerican diplomat and historian · b. 1924
Skip FinnAmerican state senator · b. 1948
E
Erma VizenorOjibwe politician and educator · b. 1944
Mal FreeburgAmerican Pilot (March 6, 1906 – May 10, 1963) · b. 1906
D
Donald D. LundriganAmerican politician – Minnesota -- "Don" House … · b. 1910
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Taylor Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThird River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoose Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSummit TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Birch 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 and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.