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History · Ericson Township

Ericson Township’s post office opened in 1877, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ericson Township began

When was Ericson Township founded?

1877

The Ericson Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ericson (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 224149 years
Founding year: the first Ericson Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ericson 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 Ericson Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ericson Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ericson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ericson 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 so far

Ericson Township, in brief

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

Ericson Township is a township in Renville County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 253 at the 2000 census. Ericson Township was organized in 1874, and named for Eric Ericson, an early settler.

Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 206 to 224 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Ericson Township, 1877 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Ericson post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Ericson post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1965On 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

Ericson Township on the map, 1965 to 1986

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

Ericson Township on the 1965 USGS mapEricson Township on the 1986 USGS map1965Sacred Heart 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 Ericson Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ericson Township

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

See all →
K
Kathleen WinsorAmerican author · b. 1919
S
Seth HinrichsAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
W
William A. MitchellAmerican food chemist · b. 1911
T
Tom RuudAmerican football player · b. 1953
Hal EricksonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1898
Paul F. HeardAmerican filmmaker · b. 1913
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ericson Township
Dustrud and LanningEmdenKrogfus

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.

Wang TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSacred Heart Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRheiderland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrooks TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ericson Township’s history

What year was Ericson Township founded?

The Ericson Township post office opened in 1877, 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 →
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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 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.