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History · Darwin Township

Darwin Township dates to 1869, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Henry Ames House. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Darwin Township began

When was Darwin Township founded?

1869

Darwin Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 56 in 18802020 census: 678157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓

What stands out about Darwin 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 Darwin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Darwin Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Darwin 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 Darwin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Darwin Township.

Read it all →

Darwin was platted in 1869 and named for E. Darwin Litchfield, a major stockholder of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad. A post office has been in operation at Darwin since 1869.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Darwin Township, 1869 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingDarwin Township is established
  3. 1897Post officeThe Casey post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Post officeThe Casey post office closes
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Darwin Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Water town and Twine Ball Inn2025Water town and Twine Ball InnMunicipal Liquor Store2025Municipal Liquor StoreDarwin Elevator2025Darwin ElevatorBusinesses on First Street2025Businesses on First StreetDarwin Water Tower, Darwin Minnesota Tony Webster2016Darwin Water Tower, Darwin Minnesota Tony WebsterMNMap-doton-Darwin2005MNMap-doton-Darwin
On the map

Darwin Township on the map, 1958 to 1982

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

Darwin Township on the 1958 USGS mapDarwin Township on the 1982 USGS map1958Dassel 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 Darwin Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Darwin Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Henry Ames House
Henry Ames House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Henry Ames HouseVernacular

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Darwin Township, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 361

Between 56 and 361 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Darwin Township

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

See all →
Gale SondergaardAmerican actress · b. 1899
Eugene McCarthyAmerican politician · b. 1916
Ann D. MontgomeryUnited States federal judge · b. 1949
E
Elmer FeigAmerican architect · b. 1897
M
Mike SchultzAmerican Paralympic snowboarder · b. 1981
H
Herbert W. ChilstromAmerican bishop · b. 1931
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Gone or out of use
Casey Post Officepost officeCasey Post Officepost office

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.

Litchfield5 historic placesB+Dassel TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLitchfield Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townForest City Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllsworth TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Darwin Township’s history

What year was Darwin Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Darwin Township’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1880 counted 56 people here.

What is on the National Register in Darwin Township?

One place: the Henry Ames House (listed 1984).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.