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History · Getty Township

Getty Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

1871first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Getty Township began

When was Getty Township founded?

1871

The Getty Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Getty (1871) and Unity (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 347155 years
Founding year: the first Getty Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Getty 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 Getty Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Getty Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Getty Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Getty 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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Getty
1871–1879
Unity
1896–1901
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Getty Township
BohemianUnity

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Getty Township, in brief

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

Getty Township is a township in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census. Getty Township was organized in 1865, and named for John J. Getty, a pioneer settler.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 376 to 347 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Getty Township, 1871 to 1901

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Getty post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Getty post office closes
  4. 1896Post officeThe Unity post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Post officeThe Unity post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Getty Township

Nobody well known was born in Getty Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
W
Walter BreuningAmerican supercentenarian · b. 1896
Paul ElleringAmerican professional wrestler and manager · b. 1953
Mark OlberdingAmerican basketball player · b. 1956
H
Henry Joseph SoennekerCatholic bishop · b. 1907
P
Paul YoungAmerican football player · b. 1908
B
Bud HeidgerkenAmerican politician · b. 1943
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSauk Centre TownshipIts storyC−Raymond TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake George TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Getty Township’s history

What year was Getty Township founded?

The Getty Township post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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 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.