Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Finlayson Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Finlayson Township

Finlayson Township dates to 1905, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1910.

1905founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Finlayson Township began

When was Finlayson Township founded?

1905

Finlayson Township dates its founding to 1905 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 186 in 19102020 census: 473121 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1896.The full story ↓

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

Start Finlayson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Finlayson 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

How Finlayson Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Finlayson Township.

Read it all →

Finlayson Township, organized October 22, 1895, and the city in Finlayson and Pine Lake Townships were named in honor of David Finlayson, the former proprietor of a sawmill in this village. The city was incorporated as a village on August 24, 1905; it had a station of the Northern Pacific Railroad, a sawmill, a pickle factory, and two potato warehouses among its early businesses. The post office was established in 1887.

The fashion brand Askov Finlayson was named after this city and neighboring Askov, Minnesota, which share a freeway exit on I-35.

The Northern Pacific station still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Finlayson Township, 1896 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Banning post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905
    FoundingFinlayson Township is established
  5. 1912Post officeThe Banning post office closes
  6. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Finlayson Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Finlayson Giese Community Center in2021Finlayson Giese Community Center inFinland Avenue in2021Finland Avenue inCrazy Mary's Cafe, Home of the Uffda Burger in2021Crazy Mary's Cafe, Home of the Uffda Burger inCity of Finlayson building in2021City of Finlayson building in
On the map

Finlayson Township on the map, 1961 to 1981

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

Finlayson Township on the 1961 USGS mapFinlayson Township on the 1981 USGS map1961Sandstone 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 Finlayson Township.

People over time

Finlayson Township, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 315

Between 186 and 315 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Banning

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.

Finlayson2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKettle River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPartridge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRutledgeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSandstone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDell Grove Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBremen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Finlayson Township’s history

What year was Finlayson Township founded?

In 1905, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Finlayson Township’s post office opened in 1896, and the census of 1910 counted 186 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 (4), Wikidata (2), 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.