Most of Fort Ripley Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Ripley Township is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Ripley 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 Fort Ripley Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±4.2 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 Fort Ripley Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fort Ripley was a United States military installation beginning in 1849 and lasting until 1877. The fort, now a small part of Camp Ripley, was on the opposite side of the Mississippi River from Morrison County as the current city in Crow Wing County.
The city of Fort Ripley was incorporated in 1927. It took its name from the fort, which was named for Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, an American soldier and politician.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Ripley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Belle Prairie 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 Fort Ripley Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Fort Ripley Township is more historic than 14% 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.
How old are the homes in Fort Ripley Township?
4% of Fort Ripley Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 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.
