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History · Birchdale Township

Birchdale Township’s post office opened in 1872

Most of Birchdale Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Birchdale Township began, and where its name came from

When was Birchdale Township founded?

1872

The Birchdale Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Birchdale (1872), Birch Lake (1882) and Ward Springs (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 931154 years

How did Birchdale Township get its name?

Birchdale Township was named after the family that platted it, W. and Martha J. Ward, but was originally Birch Lake City and it had a post office simply called Birch Lake, due to its proximity to a lake of the same name.

Founding year: the first Birchdale Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Birchdale 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 Birchdale Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Birchdale Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Birchdale Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Birchdale 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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Birchdale
1872–1874
Birch Lake
1882–1909
Ward Springs
1909–1959
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
SpauldingWard Springs
Gone or out of use
Ward SpringslocaleWard Springs Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Birchdale Township, in brief

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

Birchdale Township is a township in Todd County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 814 at the 2000 census and grew to 931 for the 2020 census. Birchdale Township was organized in 1869. The unincorporated village of Ward Springs is in Section 23 of the township. It was named after the family that platted it, W. and Martha J. Ward, but was originally Birch Lake City and it had a post office simply called Birch Lake, due to its proximity to a lake of the same name. At one time it had a Northern Pacific Railroad station. Ward Springs is widely known for its spontaneous and unorganized July 4 Independence Day parade.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 856 to 931 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Birchdale Township, 1872 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Birchdale post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Birchdale post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Birch Lake post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909Post officeThe Birch Lake post office closes
  7. 1909Post officeThe Ward Springs post office opens
  8. 1959Post officeThe Ward Springs post office closes
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 Birchdale Township

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

See all →
Sinclair LewisAmerican writer and playwright · b. 1885
Rachel EversAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1992
J
Joanne FlukeAmerican writer (c. 1943 -) · b. 1943
J
James Beardsley HendryxAmerican author of western fiction · b. 1880
B
Bud HeidgerkenAmerican politician · b. 1943
C
Colleen RandallAmerican painter · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kandota Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrey Eagle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMelrose TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRound Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSauk Centre TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Birchdale Township’s history

What year was Birchdale Township founded?

The Birchdale Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.