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History · Clinton Township

Clinton Township’s post office opened in 1876, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Clinton Township began

When was Clinton Township founded?

1876

The Clinton Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Ash Creek (1871) and Clinton (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 236150 years
Founding year: the first Clinton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Clinton 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 Clinton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clinton Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Clinton Township’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clinton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clinton 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
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.

Ash Creek
1871–1939
Clinton
1876–1877
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ash Creek
Gone or out of use
Ashcreek Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clinton Township
EastsideTrinity

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Clinton Township, in brief

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

Clinton Township is a township in Rock County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 292 at the 2000 census. Clinton Township was organized in 1871, and named after Clinton, New York.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 277 to 236 (-15%).

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

Timeline

Clinton Township, 1871 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Ash Creek post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Clinton post office opens
  4. 1877Post officeThe Clinton post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1939Post officeThe Ash Creek post office closes
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 album
On the map

Clinton Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Clinton Township on the 1967 USGS mapClinton Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Ash Creek 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 Clinton Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Clinton Township

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

See all →
M
Mamie Van DorenAmerican actress · b. 1931
Ellis Yarnal BerryAmerican politician · b. 1902
Patricia A. ThielAmerican chemist · b. 1953
D
Donald Jay GroutAmerican musicologist · b. 1902
Kyle Vanden BoschAmerican football player · b. 1978
A
Agnes AllenAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League… · b. 1930
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kanaranzi Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMartin Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLuverne Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clinton Township’s history

What year was Clinton Township founded?

The Clinton Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 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.