The Cedar Lake Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Cedar Lake (1857), Plum Creek (1873) and Saint Patrick (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,050169 years
How historic is Cedar Lake Township?
C−
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cedar Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cedar Lake Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Lake Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #208 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Lake 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 Cedar Lake 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Cedar Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cedar Lake
1857–1903
Plum Creek
1873–1887
Saint Patrick
1874–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cedar LakeSaint Patrick
Gone or out of use
Cedarlake Post Officepost officePlum Creek Post Officepost officeSaint Patrick Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Cedar Lake Township
Saint Patrick Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Cedar Lake Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cedar Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cedar Lake is an unincorporated community in Cedar Lake Township, Scott County, Minnesota, United States, near New Prague and Elko New Market. The community is located along Scott County Road 23 near 250th Street East.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,779 to 3,050 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Cedar Lake Township, 1857 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedar Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Prior Lake 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 Cedar Lake Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Cedar Lake Township
Nobody well known was born in Cedar Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Cedar Lake Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cedar Lake Township rank for history?
Cedar Lake Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #208 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.
How old are the homes in Cedar Lake Township?
5% of Cedar Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 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.
