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BHistory
History · Cambridge Township

Cambridge Township dates to 1877, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #79 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listing is the West Riverside School. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1880.

1877founded
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cambridge Township began, and where its name came from

When was Cambridge Township founded?

1877

Cambridge Township dates its founding to 1877 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 136 in 18802020 census: 2,495149 years

How did Cambridge Township get its name?

Cambridge Township was named by, and originally settled by, immigrants from New England.

How historic is Cambridge Township?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1899. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cambridge Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #79 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194014.2% of homes (±6.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 11.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 71%

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 Cambridge Township’s 11.8 sits above most of its state (78% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1877.
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 (±6.2 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Cambridge 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 Cambridge Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cambridge Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cambridge Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Cambridge Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cambridge Township.

Read it all →

The city of Cambridge was established in the late 19th century along the railroad from Minneapolis to Duluth. It was named by, and originally settled by, immigrants from New England. These were settlers who were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England during the colonial era. The same population founded and named the town of Princeton nearby. Later on the surrounding area would be heavily populated with Swedish, and German, immigrants.

In the early 20th century, Cambridge had a potato starch factory, a 1,301-barrel flour mill, a wool carding and spinning mill, an electric lighting plant, and local and long-distance telephone systems.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cambridge Township, 1877 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingCambridge Township is established
  3. 1899Post officeThe Grandy post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cambridge Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Fire Station2025Fire StationCounty Jail2025County JailCommercial businesses on Main Street2025Commercial businesses on Main StreetCommercial Businesses on 2nd Avenue SW2025Commercial Businesses on 2nd Avenue SWCity Hall2025City HallArrowhead Transit bus downtown2025Arrowhead Transit bus downtownArrowhead Transit Ribbon Cutting for RideSmart 20252025Arrowhead Transit Ribbon Cutting for RideSmart 2025Arrowhead Transit Bus Stop in2025Arrowhead Transit Bus Stop inFirst Baptist Church2013First Baptist ChurchWest Riverside School 22009West Riverside School 2Isanti Co Courthouse 42009Isanti Co Courthouse 4MNMap-doton-Cambridge2005MNMap-doton-Cambridge
On the map

Cambridge Township on the map, 1961 to 1991

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

Cambridge Township on the 1961 USGS mapCambridge Township on the 1983 USGS mapCambridge Township on the 1991 USGS map1961Cambridge sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cambridge Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cambridge Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
West Riverside School
West Riverside School
Buildings
West Riverside SchoolBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Cambridge Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020209,611

Grew from 136 people in 1880 to 9,611 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grandy
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cambridge Township
AdventistGrandy Swedish Adventist

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.

Cambridge1 historic placeC+Stanchfield TownshipIts storyB−Isanti Township1 historic placeB−Springvale TownshipIts storyCFish Lake TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Cambridge Township’s history

What year was Cambridge Township founded?

In 1877, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cambridge Township’s post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1880 counted 136 people here.

How does Cambridge Township rank for history?

Cambridge Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #79 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 Cambridge Township?

One place: the West Riverside School (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Cambridge Township?

14% of Cambridge Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.