The Brunswick Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Brunswick (1860), Lewislake (1896) and Coin (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,320166 years
How historic is Brunswick Township?
C+
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Brunswick Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brunswick Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brunswick Township is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brunswick 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 Brunswick Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Brunswick Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Brunswick, platted in 1856, is situated within Brunswick Township. The community is located in Section 1 of the township, but its history traces back to the Hersey, Staples, and Bean Lumber Company, whose logging headquarters were in Section 12 of the township. George and Isaac Staples platted the site of the community, naming it after Brunswick, Maine. With stores, a post office, and mills located in Brunswick, it became the county seat for Kanabec County on March 13, 1859. It retained its status as the county seat until it was transferred to Mora in 1883.
A post office was established at Brunswick in 1860, and remained in operation until 1934.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brunswick Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Mora South 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 Brunswick Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Brunswick Township
Nobody well known was born in Brunswick Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Brunswick Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Brunswick Township rank for history?
Brunswick Township is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Brunswick Township?
21% of Brunswick Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
