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History · Cordova Township

Cordova Township’s post office opened in 1857, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cordova Township began

When was Cordova Township founded?

1857

The Cordova Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1867. Three smaller post offices, Cordova (1857), Gorman (1857) and Simons (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 496169 years
Founding year: the first Cordova Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1867.

What stands out about Cordova 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 Cordova Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cordova Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cordova Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cordova 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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cordova
1857–1907
Gorman
1857–1859
Simons
1857–1857
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cordova
Gone or out of use
Cordova Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cordova Township
BluegrassGorman

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

The story so far

Cordova Township, in brief

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

Cordova is an unincorporated community in Cordova Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located along Le Sueur County Road 2, near its junction with Le Sueur County Road 5 at Gorman Lake. County Roads 7 and 11 are also in the immediate area. The Little Cannon River is nearby. Cordova had a post office from 1857 to 1907. It was platted on September 28, 1867, and incorporated on February 27, 1878, but has since returned to being an unincorporated community within Cordova Township. Nearby places include Le Center, Waterville, Kilkenny, Montgomery, Lexington, Cleveland, and Elysian.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 471 to 496 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Cordova Township, 1857 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Cordova post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Gorman post office opens
  4. 1857Post officeThe Simons post office opens
  5. 1857Post officeThe Simons post office closes
  6. 1859Post officeThe Gorman post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907Post officeThe Cordova post office closes
  9. 1966On 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.
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On the map

Cordova Township on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Cordova Township on the 1966 USGS mapCordova Township on the 1985 USGS map1966Cordova 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 Cordova Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cordova Township

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

See all →
Rick RudeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1958
W
William James MayoAmerican surgeon · b. 1861
J
John Albert JohnsonAmerican politician from Minnesota · b. 1861
Joanne BensonAmerican politician · b. 1943
Godfrey G. GoodwinMinnesota Representative · b. 1873
John H. TolanAmerican politician · b. 1877
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Elysian Township1 historic placeBCleveland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLexington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKilkenny Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cordova Township’s history

What year was Cordova Township founded?

The Cordova Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1867.

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.