The Eureka Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Christiana (1858) and Eureka (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 480 in 18602020 census: 1,373166 years
How historic is Eureka Township?
B
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Eureka Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Eureka Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eureka Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eureka Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Eureka Township’s 8.5 sits above most of its state (73% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Eureka Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1950, then more than doubled.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Eureka Township’s Wikipedia page.
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.
Christiana
1858–1902
Eureka
1860–1863
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eureka Center
Gone or out of use
Christiana Post Officepost officeCurry AirportairportEureka Center ChurchchurchLe Nores Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eureka Township
East ChristianiaFarmington LutheranGreenwoodHighview Christiana
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Eureka Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Eureka Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Eureka Township is an urban township in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,373 at the 2020 census. Eureka Township was organized in 1858. Eureka is a name derived from Greek, meaning "I have found it".
Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,426 to 1,373 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Eureka Township, 1858 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eureka Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Farmington 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 Eureka Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Eureka Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Eureka Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Eureka Township rank for history?
Eureka Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Eureka Township?
One place: the Christiania Lutheran Free Church (listed 2010).
How old are the homes in Eureka Township?
24% of Eureka Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1974.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
