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History · Douglas Township

22% of Douglas Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1860.

0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Good Free Photos · CC BY 3.0

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

Start Douglas Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Douglas 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

How Douglas Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Douglas Township.

Read it all →

On April 6, 1858, the Dakota County board of commissioners made township 117, range 17 Douglas Township. Hugh McKay made the first claim to land within the township in the spring of 1854. The first elections were held on May 11, 1858. The elected officials included: Harvey Van Auken, John Borrill and John McLaughlin as judges of election; Hugh Larimer, clerk of court; Harvey Van Autken, Daniel W. Twichell and John Borrill, as supervisors; A. J. Patch, clerk: Hugh Larimer, as assessor; James Keetley, as collector; Richard Powers as constable; Harvey Van Auken as justice of the peace; John Holmes as overseer of highways.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

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On the map

Douglas Township on the map, 1957 to 1974

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

Douglas Township on the 1957 USGS mapDouglas Township on the 1974 USGS map1957Hastings 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 Douglas Township.

People over time

Douglas Township, census by census

0200400600800190019502000Peak: 801

Between 120 and 801 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Douglas Township

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

See all →
Patrick FluegerAmerican actor · b. 1983
Derek StepanAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1990
F
Frances Theresa DensmoreAmerican anthropologist and ethnologist · b. 1867
M
Mark Steven JohnsonAmerican film director and writer · b. 1964
Harry OliverAmerican art director · b. 1888
G
George Ashley CampbellAmerican electrical engineer · b. 1870
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cannon Falls TownshipIts storyC+Welch Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHampton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCannon Falls9 historic placesA−Marshan TownshipIts storyC−Vasa Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Douglas Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.