On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bradford Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #93 of 273 in Minnesota. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bradford Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bradford Township’s 2.9 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bradford Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Oxlip, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BradfordEast Lake Francis ShoresOxlipWest Lake Francis Shores
Gone or out of use
Oxlip Post Officepost officeSchool Number 17school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bradford Township
KienitzLong Lake LutheranSaint JohnsStrike
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Bradford Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bradford Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bradford is an unincorporated community in Bradford Township, Isanti County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located west of Cambridge and Isanti and north of St. Francis on State Highway 47 (MN 47). The center of Bradford is generally considered at the junction of Highway 47 and Isanti County Road 40. Other routes include County Roads 5, 10, and 17. Bradford currently has a gas station, a used car lot, a few small industries, which include, but are not limited to, Heat Mizer Glass, and has a restaurant "Bradford Roadhouse" on the site of the former Bradford Store.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,380 in 2010, 3,427 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Bradford Township, 1899 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bradford Township.
1961Bradford 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 Bradford Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Bradford Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Bradford Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #93 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bradford Township?
One place: the St. John's Lutheran Church (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Bradford Township?
12% of Bradford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1976.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
