The Dahlgren Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Oberles Corners (1861), Dahlgren (1872) and Bevens Creek (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 854154 years
How historic is Dahlgren Township?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dahlgren Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Dahlgren Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dahlgren Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dahlgren Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dahlgren Township’s 39.0 sits above most of its state (91% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Dahlgren Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dahlgren Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Minnetonka 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 Dahlgren Township.
The story so far
Dahlgren Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dahlgren Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dahlgren is an unincorporated community in Dahlgren Township, Carver County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located along Highway 212 at Carver County Road 43 near Chaska and Cologne.
Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,331 to 854 (-36%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Dahlgren Township, 1861 to 1905
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Dahlgren Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dahlgren Township rank for history?
Dahlgren Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Dahlgren Township?
One place: the King Oscar's Settlement (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Dahlgren Township?
21% of Dahlgren Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
