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History · Blackberry Township

Blackberry Township’s post office opened in 1899

Most of Blackberry Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1969 on.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Blackberry Township began

When was Blackberry Township founded?

1899

The Blackberry Township post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Blackberry (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 827127 years
Founding year: the first Blackberry Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Blackberry 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 Blackberry Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blackberry Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blackberry 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

Blackberry Township, in brief

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

Blackberry is an unincorporated community in Blackberry Township, Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located between Grand Rapids and Floodwood at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 (U.S. 2) and Itasca County Road 71 (CR 71). Nearby places include Grand Rapids, La Prairie, Gunn, Coleraine, Bovey, and Warba. Blackberry is located seven miles southeast of Grand Rapids. ZIP codes 55744 (Grand Rapids) and 55709 (Bovey) meet at Blackberry. The Mississippi River is in the vicinity. The community of Blackberry is located within Blackberry Township (population 880).

Its first post office opened in 1899. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 880 to 827 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Blackberry Township, 1899 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Blackberry post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1944Post officeThe Blackberry post office closes
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Blackberry Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-062025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-06Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-052025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-05Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-04a2025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-04aFairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-042025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-04Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-032025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-03Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-022025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-02Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-012025Fairgrounds, Blackberry, Minnesota-01Blackberry Town hall, Blackberry, Minnesota 022025Blackberry Town hall, Blackberry, Minnesota 02Blackberry Town hall, Blackberry, Minnesota 012025Blackberry Town hall, Blackberry, Minnesota 01
On the map

Blackberry Township on the map, 1969 to 1992

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

Blackberry Township on the 1969 USGS mapBlackberry Township on the 1992 USGS map1969La Prairie 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 Blackberry Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Blackberry Township

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

See all →
Judy GarlandAmerican actress, singer, dancer and vaudevilli… · b. 1922
Robert R. GilruthAmerican aerospace engineer · b. 1913
B
Buzz SchneiderIce hockey player · b. 1954
A
Adam JohnsonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1994
B
Bill BakerAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1956
Rick HillAmerican politician · b. 1946
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
BlackberryPhilbin
Gone or out of use
Blackberry Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Blackberry Township
Blackberry

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.

Trout Lake Township1 historic placeBHarris TownshipIts storyC−Feeley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSplithand TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blackberry Township’s history

What year was Blackberry Township founded?

The Blackberry Township post office opened in 1899, 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 →
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 Wikimedia Commons (9), 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.