Most of Clear Lake Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1900.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clear Lake Township is more historic than 20% 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 Clear 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 Clear 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Clear Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clear Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clear Lake is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 641 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highway 24 are two of the main routes in Clear Lake. Clear Lake is 13 miles southeast of St. Cloud and 24 miles northwest of Elk River.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,539 to 1,675 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Clear Lake Township, 1880 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clear Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Clear Lake 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 Clear Lake Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewWaseca, Minn, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clear Lake Township’s page.
Clear Lake Township is more historic than 20% 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 Clear Lake Township?
6% of Clear Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
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2016
2016
2016
