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History · Garnes Township

Garnes Township’s post office opened in 1896, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on.

1896first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Garnes Township began

When was Garnes Township founded?

1896

The Garnes Township post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Garnes (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 178130 years
Founding year: the first Garnes Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Garnes 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 Garnes Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1985. Watch Garnes Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Garnes Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garnes Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Garnes Township on the map, 1919 to 1985

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

Garnes Township on the 1919 USGS mapGarnes Township on the 1972 USGS mapGarnes Township on the 1985 USGS map1919Oklee 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 Garnes Township.

The story so far

Garnes Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Garnes Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Garnes Township is a township in Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 174 at the 2000 census. Garnes Township was named for the phonetic version of the last name of Ellef K. Gjernes, a Norwegian settler from Ål in Hallingdal, Norway, who was the township's first postmaster in 1897.

Its first post office opened in 1896. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 190 to 178 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Garnes Township, 1896 to 1919

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Garnes post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Garnes post office closes
  5. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Garnes Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Garnes, Minnesota2005Garnes, MinnesotaGarnes, Minnesota2005Garnes, MinnesotaGarnes, Minnesota2005Garnes, MinnesotaGarnes, Minnesota2005Garnes, Minnesota
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Garnes
1cemetery inside Garnes Township
Salem Lutheran

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.

Emardville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEquality Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLambert TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMayfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWyandotte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Garnes Township’s history

What year was Garnes Township founded?

The Garnes Township post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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.