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History · Germantown Township

27% of Germantown Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Germantown 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 Germantown Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Germantown Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Germantown 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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The story so far

Germantown Township, in brief

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

Germantown Township is in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 207 at the 2010 census. Germantown Township was organized in 1874. A large share of the early settlers being natives of Germany caused the name to be selected.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 207 to 171 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Germantown Township, 1878 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Red Rock post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Red Rock post office closes
  5. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Germantown Township on the map, 1967 to 1986

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

Germantown Township on the 1967 USGS mapGermantown Township on the 1986 USGS map1967Sanborn 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 Germantown Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Germantown Township
Red RockSaint Johns

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.

Amboy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStately TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHighwater TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Germantown Township’s history

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 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.