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History · Dale Township

Dale Township’s post office opened in 1878, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dale Township began

When was Dale Township founded?

1878

The Dale Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dale (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 145148 years
Founding year: the first Dale Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Dale 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 Dale Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Dale Township’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dale Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dale 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 so far

Dale Township, in brief

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

Dale Township is a township in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 151 at the 2010 census. Dale Township was organized in 1872, and named for the many dales contained within its borders.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 151 to 145 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Dale Township, 1878 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Dale post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Dale post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1970On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Dale Township on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Dale Township on the 1970 USGS mapDale Township on the 1985 USGS map1970Harder Lake 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 Dale Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Dale Township

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

See all →
M
Maria SchneiderJazz bandleader and composer · b. 1960
Johnny OlsonAmerican television announcer · b. 1910
F
Frederick William FrekingCatholic bishop · b. 1913
A
Al ArndtAmerican football player · b. 1911
Gilbert EsauAmerican politician · b. 1919
E
Elaine HarderAmerican politician · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Dale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Great Bend TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAmboy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAmo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dale Township’s history

What year was Dale Township founded?

The Dale Township post office opened in 1878, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.