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–Not graded
History · Byron Township

23% of Byron Township’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Byron Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Byron Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ 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.
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The story so far

Byron Township, in brief

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

Byron Township is a township in Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 216 at the 2020 census. Byron Township was organized in 1858. At the meeting of the board of supervisors, Nov. 1st, 1858, township number 105, range 23, was at this meeting organizes and named Byron, one of the first settlers of Vivian, the town was named in honor of Byron Philbrook, then living in California. Who was the brother of resident Roscoe Philbrook.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 230 to 216 (-6%).

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

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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Byron Township

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

See all →
Leroy ShieldAmerican film score and radio composer, pianist… · b. 1893
R
Ross Lee FinneyAmerican composer · b. 1906
Ray John MaddenAmerican politician · b. 1892
Carl Wood RiddickAmerican politician · b. 1872
Robert SheranAmerican lawyer, judge and politician · b. 1916
G
Glenn OdekirkAmerican engineer · b. 1905
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Matawan
Gone or out of use
Arneman FieldairportMatawanlocaleMatawan Post Officepost office

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.

New Richland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVivian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFreeborn 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.

Town Square →
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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 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.