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History · Delton Township

Delton Township’s post office opened in 1878, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Jeffers Petroglyphs Site. Below: maps from 1967 on.

1878first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Delton Township began

When was Delton Township founded?

1878

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

2020 census: 131148 years
Founding year: the first Delton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Delton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delton Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Delton Township, in brief

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

Delton Township is a township in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 123 at the 2010 census. Delton Township was organized in 1872.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 123 to 131 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Delton Township, 1878 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Delton post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Delton post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1967On 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.
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On the map

Delton Township on the map, 1967 to 1986

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

Delton Township on the 1967 USGS mapDelton Township on the 1986 USGS map1967Sanborn SE 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 Delton Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Delton 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
1970
Jeffers Petroglyphs Site
Jeffers Petroglyphs Site
Sites
Jeffers Petroglyphs SiteSite

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Delton Township

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

See all →
M
Maria SchneiderJazz bandleader and composer · b. 1960
Glen TaylorAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1941
Johnny OlsonAmerican television announcer · b. 1910
A
Al ArndtAmerican football player · b. 1911
Bernie BiermanAmerican college football player and coach · b. 1894
Gilbert EsauAmerican politician · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

1cemetery inside Delton Township
Delton

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.

Amboy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStately TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSelma TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Delton Township’s history

What year was Delton Township founded?

The Delton Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Delton Township?

One place: the Jeffers Petroglyphs Site (listed 1970).

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 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.