Its Register listing is the Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area. Most of Farm Island Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1973 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Farm Island Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farm Island 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 Farm Island Township’s 10.6 sits above most of its state (77% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Farm Island Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
During the period 1896–1912, the community was served by a post office named Dorris. The community is still referred to by some as Dorris. The historic Cedar Lake Lutheran Church and adjacent cemetery are both locally referred to by the name Dorris. Early immigrants in the area include the Roms (Carlsons), Dummers, Rudes (Ruds) and Petersons. In 2006 the Rom Poultry Farm ended their egg business. Much of the land was originally transferred to the railroad, and subsequently sold to settlers. The terrain reminded the surveyors of Switzerland, and so named the Switzerland Trail (now Township Road 96).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Farm Island Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1973Bay 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 Farm Island Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Farm Island Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Farm Island Township is more historic than 52% 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 Farm Island Township?
One place: the Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area (listed 2016).
How old are the homes in Farm Island Township?
7% of Farm Island Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1987.
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), Wikipedia, 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.
