On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grand Lake Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #197 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Lake 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 Grand Lake 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 (±5.5 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 Grand Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Anatol, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Twig
1901–today
Anatol
1921–1943
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BartlettHarnell ParkTaftTwigTwig Station
Gone or out of use
Anatol Post Officepost officeSheltons Airportairport
1cemetery inside Grand Lake Township
Grand Lake
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Grand Lake Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grand Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Grand Lake Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,720 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Twig is in Grand Lake Township. U.S. Highway 53 serves as a main route. Other routes include Industrial Road, Old Miller Trunk Highway, Munger Shaw Road, Bergstrom Road, Caribou Lake Road, and Canosia Road. Grand Lake Township is in the unincorporated area of Saginaw.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,779 to 2,720 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Grand Lake Township, 1901 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grand Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Twig 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 Grand Lake Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Grand Lake Township
Nobody well known was born in Grand Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Grand Lake Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #197 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Grand Lake Township?
8% of Grand Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 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.
