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–Not graded
History · Cotton Township

Cotton Township’s post office opened in 1905, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Cotton Township began

When was Cotton Township founded?

1905

The Cotton Township post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Shan (1919), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 460121 years
Founding year: the first Cotton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cotton 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 Cotton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cotton Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cotton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cotton 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.

Cotton
1905–today
Shan
1919–1950
Shaw
1950–1959
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CottonShawWhiteface
Gone or out of use
Shaw Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Cotton Township
Lakeview

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

The story so far

Cotton Township, in brief

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

Cotton is an unincorporated community in Cotton Township, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located 36 miles (58 km) north of the city of Duluth at the junction of U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53) and Saint Louis County Road 52 (CR 52). Cotton is located 27 miles south of the city of Virginia. Cotton is generally considered the half way point between the cities of Duluth and Virginia. The Whiteface River flows through the community.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 445 to 460 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Cotton Township, 1905 to 1959

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Cotton post office opens
  3. 1919Post officeThe Shan post office opens
  4. 1950Post officeThe Shan post office closes
  5. 1950Post officeThe Shaw post office opens
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1959Post officeThe Shaw post office closes
By decade

Cotton Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Wilbert Cafe-El Toro Lounge2025Wilbert Cafe-El Toro LoungeVolunteer Fire Department2025Volunteer Fire Department
On the map

Cotton Township on the map, 1956 to 1969

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

Cotton Township on the 1956 USGS mapCotton Township on the 1969 USGS map1956Cotton 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 Cotton Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kelsey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllsburg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorthland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cotton Township’s history

What year was Cotton Township founded?

The Cotton Township post office opened in 1905, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.