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History · Brandon Township

Brandon Township dates to 1881, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1890.

1881founded
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brandon Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Brandon Township began

When was Brandon Township founded?

1881

Brandon Township dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 225 in 18902020 census: 763145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓
The story

How Brandon Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brandon Township.

Read it all →

The village of Brandon was incorporated on November 22, 1881. The current town site was laid out when the railroad was being built in August 1879. The town was called Chippewa when at its previous location which was two miles north of the present day site. Brandon was named in honor of Brandon, Vermont, the birthplace of Stephen A. Douglas.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brandon Township, 1881 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingBrandon Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907In the archiveMoon Lake
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brandon Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s9 items
Moon Lake1907Moon LakeStowes Lake1907Stowes LakeHillside, Stowes Lake1907Hillside, Stowes LakeLittle Chippewa Lake1907Little Chippewa LakeView of Moon Lake1907View of Moon LakeIsland Big Chippewa Lake1907Island Big Chippewa LakeOak on Devils Lake1907Oak on Devils LakeBirtches [i.e. Birches], Moon Lake1907Birtches [i.e. Birches], Moon LakeBig Chippiwa [i.e. Chippewa] Lake1907Big Chippiwa [i.e. Chippewa] Lake
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Brandon Township on the map, 1966 to 1977

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

Brandon Township on the 1966 USGS mapBrandon Township on the 1977 USGS map1966Brandon 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 Brandon Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Moon Lake
Retake this viewMoon Lake, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Brandon Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Brandon Township, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020501

Grew from 225 people in 1890 to 501 in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Brandon Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMoon Lake: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ida TownshipIts storyCMillerville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEvansville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoe TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brandon Township’s history

What year was Brandon Township founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 225 people here.

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 the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.