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History · Evansville Township

Evansville Township dates to 1879, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1890.

1879founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Evansville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Evansville Township began

When was Evansville Township founded?

1879

Evansville Township dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 452 in 18902020 census: 222147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Evansville Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Evansville Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s13 items
East Evansville, Minn1908East Evansville, MinnKrone Street1908Krone StreetSchool house1908School houseState Street1908State StreetMain Street1908Main StreetTown hall1908Town hallState Street, West Evansville, Minn1908State Street, West Evansville, MinnCoal chute and elevator1908Coal chute and elevatorGreat Northern Coal Chute1908Great Northern Coal ChuteSwedish Luteran [i.e. Lutheran] Church1908Swedish Luteran [i.e. Lutheran] ChurchBirds eye view of Evansville, Minn1908Birds eye view of Evansville, MinnBirds eye view of East Evansville, Minn1908Birds eye view of East Evansville, MinnNorwegian Luteran [i.e. Lutheran] Church and parsonage1908Norwegian Luteran [i.e. Lutheran] Church and parsonage
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Evansville, Minnesota-042010Evansville, Minnesota-04Evansville, Minnesota-032010Evansville, Minnesota-03Evansville, Minnesota-022010Evansville, Minnesota-02Evansville, Minnesota-012010Evansville, Minnesota-01MNMap-doton-Evansville2005MNMap-doton-Evansville
The story

How Evansville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Evansville Township.

Read it all →

Evansville was platted in 1879 when the railroad was extended to that point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Evansville Township, 1879 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingEvansville Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveEast Evansville, Minn
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Evansville Township on the map, 1966 to 1986

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

Evansville Township on the 1966 USGS mapEvansville Township on the 1986 USGS map1966Quam Lake 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 Evansville Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

East Evansville, Minn
Retake this viewEast Evansville, Minn, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Evansville Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Evansville Township, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 612

Between 389 and 612 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Evansville Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEast Evansville, Minn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Erdahl TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUrness TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLund TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrandon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Evansville Township’s history

What year was Evansville Township founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 452 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (13), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.