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History · Derrynane Township

Derrynane Township’s post office opened in 1861, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Derrynane Township began

When was Derrynane Township founded?

1861

The Derrynane Township post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Derrynane (1861) and Saint Thomas (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 532165 years
Founding year: the first Derrynane Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Derrynane 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 Derrynane Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Derrynane Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Derrynane Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Derrynane Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Derrynane 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Derrynane
1861–1861
Saint Thomas
1872–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint ThomasUnion Hill
Gone or out of use
Saint Thomas Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Derrynane Township
PomeranianSaint Francis XavierSaint JohnsSaint Thomas

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

The story so far

Derrynane Township, in brief

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

Derrynane Township is a township in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 549 at the 2000 census. Derrynane Township was organized in 1858, and named after the Derrynane Abbey, in Ireland.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 508 to 532 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Derrynane Township, 1861 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Derrynane post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Derrynane post office closes
  4. 1872Post officeThe Saint Thomas post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Saint Thomas post office closes
  7. 1953On 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

Derrynane Township on the map in 1953

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Derrynane Township.

Derrynane Township on the 1953 USGS map1953Saint Paul sheet · 1:250,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Derrynane Township

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

See all →
W
William James MayoAmerican surgeon · b. 1861
Joanne BensonAmerican politician · b. 1943
Ben DvorakAmerican football running back · b. 1895
B
Bobbie HarderAmerican politician
L
Laura BrodAmerican politician · b. 1971
Ollie FuhrmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1896
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lexington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLanesburgh TownshipIts storyCTyrone Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Derrynane Township’s history

What year was Derrynane Township founded?

The Derrynane Township post office opened in 1861, 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, 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.