The story
Read it all →How Byron Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Byron Township.
Byron Township was named for Byron Powell, the first white boy born there.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Byron Township
Half of Byron Township’s homes were built after 1989
Most of Byron Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1970 on.
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Byron Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Byron Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Byron Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ellis
Esterdy
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EllisEsterdyLeader
Gone or out of use
Ellis Post Officepost officeEsterdy Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Byron Township
Swan Valley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Byron Township, 1890 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Byron Township on the map in 1970
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Byron Township.
1970Leader sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Byron Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Byron Township
Nobody well known was born in Byron Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
L
Loren BainAmerican baseball player · b. 1922G
Gil SkeatePlayer of American football · b. 1901H
Harry A. Bridgeman, Sr.American politician – Minnesota -- "H.A." Senat… · b. 1877Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Meadow Brook TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBecker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPoplar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBullard TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Byron Township’s history
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.