Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cosmos Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Water tower, Cosmos, MinnesotaPhoto: Myotus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Cosmos Township

16% of Cosmos Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1930.

0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Cosmos 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 Cosmos Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cosmos Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cosmos Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cosmos 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
The story

How Cosmos Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cosmos Township.

Read it all →

Cosmos Township was first settled by Daniel Jackman, from Maine, in 1867. On his arrival, until he could build his house, he lived in a tent and cooked on an open fire. He took up a homestead in section 26. He returned to Minneapolis the following spring, but immediately returned and built his home in the summer of 1868. In 1877, he made a trip to the Black Hills and spent the season in gold mining, but returned in the fall. When the township was organized, the first election was held at his house. He was elected the first chairman of the board of supervisors and held that office for three years.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Cosmos Township, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Water tower2023Water towerWater tower in2023Water tower inWater tower at2023Water tower atBusiness district in2023Business district inMilkyway Street2022Milkyway StreetMilkyway Street2022Milkyway StreetCosmos City Hall2022Cosmos City HallWaterTowerCosmosMN-Panoramio(cropped)2010WaterTowerCosmosMN-Panoramio(cropped)Luce Line Bike-Walk Trail, Cosmos MN - panoramio (2)2010Luce Line Bike-Walk Trail, Cosmos MN - panoramio (2)Luce Line Bike-Walk Trail, Cosmos MN - Lake Thompsom - panoramio (1)2010Luce Line Bike-Walk Trail, Cosmos MN - Lake Thompsom …
On the map

Cosmos Township on the map, 1967 to 1986

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

Cosmos Township on the 1967 USGS mapCosmos Township on the 1986 USGS map1967Cosmos 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 Cosmos Township.

People over time

Cosmos Township, census by census

010020030040050060019401960198020002020Peak: 610

Between 230 and 610 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cosmos Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cosmos Township

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

See all →
Bradley JosephAmerican composer, pianist, keyboardist, arrang… · b. 1965
K
Kathleen WinsorAmerican author · b. 1919
T
Tom RuudAmerican football player · b. 1953
Ancher NelsenAmerican politician · b. 1904
E
Elmer FeigAmerican architect · b. 1897
Paul F. HeardAmerican filmmaker · b. 1913
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cedar Mills TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Lake Lillian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDanielson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cosmos Township’s history

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 Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, 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.