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Elizabeth Village Hall and JailPhoto: Elizabeth A. Armour · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Elizabeth Township

Elizabeth Township dates to 1872

Most of Elizabeth Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1880.

1872founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Elizabeth A. Armour · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Elizabeth Township began

When was Elizabeth Township founded?

1872

Elizabeth Township dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 128 in 18802020 census: 843154 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1900.The full story ↓

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

Start Elizabeth Township’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Elizabeth Township.

Read it all →

Elizabeth was platted in 1872, and named for Elizabeth Niggler, the wife of an early settler. A post office was established under the name Elizabethtown in 1871, and the name was changed to Elizabeth in 1882.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elizabeth Township, 1872 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingElizabeth Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Sverre post office opens
  5. 1906Post officeThe Sverre post office closes
  6. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elizabeth Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Elizabeth Village Hall and Jail2012Elizabeth Village Hall and JailElizabeth Town Hall and Jail, Elizabeth, Minnesota-relocated to Norway2009Elizabeth Town Hall and Jail, Elizabeth, Minnesota-re…MNMap-doton-Elizabeth2005MNMap-doton-Elizabeth
On the map

Elizabeth Township on the map, 1913 to 1973

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

Elizabeth Township on the 1913 USGS mapElizabeth Township on the 1973 USGS map1913Fergus Falls 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 Elizabeth Township.

People over time

Elizabeth Township, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 204

Between 128 and 204 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
School Number 203schoolSchool Number 208schoolSchool Number 230schoolSchool Number 36schoolSverre Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elizabeth Township
German EvangelicalZion Elizabeth

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.

Erhards Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFergus Falls TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOscar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFriberg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elizabeth Township’s history

What year was Elizabeth Township founded?

In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elizabeth Township’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1880 counted 128 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (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.