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–Not graded
History · Compton Township

17% of Compton Township’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Compton 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 Compton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Compton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Compton 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

Compton Township, in brief

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

Compton Township is a township in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 798 at the 2020 census. Compton Township was organized in 1875, and named for James Compton, an early settler.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 801 in 2010, 798 in 2020.

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 Compton Township

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

See all →
Lesley J. McNairRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1883
Forrest MarsAmerican businessman · b. 1904
Peter HayesAmerican guitarist · b. 1976
E
Elizabeth ColsonUS social anthropologist · b. 1917
J
John CampbellAmerican football player and Navy veteran · b. 1938
P
Pat PorterAmerican athletic competitor · b. 1959
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wadena3 historic placesB+Deer Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOak Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWadena TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBluffton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Compton Township’s history

Memory lane

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

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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 USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.