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Fournet Building, Crookston, Minnesota-03Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Crookston Township

Crookston Township dates to 1872, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1880.

1872founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crookston Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Crookston Township began

When was Crookston Township founded?

1872

Crookston Township dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,227 in 18802020 census: 441154 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Crookston Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1908–1996.
★ What stands out · By decade

Crookston Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s8 items
Crowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft)1908Crowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft)Taft Crookston, Minn. (Minnesota)1908Taft Crookston, Minn. (Minnesota)Taft at Crookston (Minnesota)1908Taft at Crookston (Minnesota)Taft at Crookston1908Taft at CrookstonTaft at Crookston, (Minnesota)1908Taft at Crookston, (Minnesota)Taft at Crookston, Minnesota1908Taft at Crookston, MinnesotaTaft in Crookston1908Taft in CrookstonTaft, Crookston, Minn. (Minnesota)1908Taft, Crookston, Minn. (Minnesota)
1930s3 items
Newly-married Mexican couple, beet workers near Crookston, Minnesota1937Newly-married Mexican couple, beet workers near Crook…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Newly-married Mexican couple, beet workers near Crookston, Minnesota1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Newly-married Me…Red Lake High School Crops and Poultry Judging group at Crookston, Minnesotac. 1938Red Lake High School Crops and Poultry Judging group …
1940s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s2 items
Crookston Municipal Airport-MN-19Apr1991-USGS1991Crookston Municipal Airport-MN-19Apr1991-USGSCrookston Minnesota aerial view1996Crookston Minnesota aerial view
Today2 recent
Crookston Public Library2013Crookston Public LibraryGreetings from Crookston, Minnesota - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Crookston, Minnesota - Large Letter Po…Document
The story

How Crookston Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crookston Township.

Read it all →

Crookston was settled around 1872. It was the site of a federal land office by 1876 and sited on a portion of the Great Northern Railway that began operation by 1880. The town was incorporated on April 1, 1879 as "Queen City". By the end of that year, the town had a jail, graded streets, and a few plank sidewalks. Soon, it was decided that the town needed a new name. Two factions emerged supporting two different names. One wished to honor the town's first mayor, Captain Ellerey C. Davis, with the name Davis. Another group picked the name Crookston to honor Col. William Crooks, chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway which was built through the community. The name was reportedly chosen by coin toss.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crookston Township, 1872 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingCrookston Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveCrowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft)
  5. 1937In the archiveNewly-married Mexican couple, beet workers near Crookston, Minnesota
  6. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1991In the archiveCrookston Municipal Airport-MN-19Apr1991-USGS
On the map

Crookston Township on the map, 1953 to 1982

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

Crookston Township on the 1953 USGS mapCrookston Township on the 1982 USGS map1953Crookston sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crookston Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Crowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft)
Retake this viewCrowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft), 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Crookston Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Crookston Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,628

Between 1,227 and 8,628 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
AnglimRiverview Terrace

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Crookston Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCrowd at Crookston, Minn. (Taft): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gentilly Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrookston4 historic placesA−Fairfax TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLowell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townParnell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Crookston Township’s history

What year was Crookston Township founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 1,227 people here.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), 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.