Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Greenfield Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1932 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenfield Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Greenfield 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenfield Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Greenfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Greenfield Township is a township in Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,254 at the 2000 census. Greenfield Township was organized in 1858.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,349 to 1,308 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Greenfield Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
master’s Department under Captain Nye, chief quartermaster of the Army of the Ohio on General Buell’s staff, serving in such capacity until November, 1862. He then came to Minnesota. Wabasha county appealed to him, and he purchased a large tract of land in Greenfield Township and established a sheep and cattle ranch, where he remained for many years. In 1882 the narrow gauge railroad between Wabasha and Zumbrota was under process of construction, but owing to the failure of the original contractors the work was suspended.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Greenfield Township is the largest township in Wabasha County, occupying all but sections 4, 5 and 6 of Township 110, Range 10, and all of fractional Township 110, Range 9. It is bounded on the north by Wabasha and the Mis¬ sissippi, on the east by Glasgow Township, on the south by Watopa and Minneiska Townships, and on the east by the Mississippi River across which lies Buffalo County in Wisconsin. The River Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul nearly bisects the town from north to south. The high lands east of the railroad are cut by the valleys of the Zumbro River and its tributaries,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greenfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenfield Township.
Nobody well known was born in Greenfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Greenfield Township is more historic than 19% 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.
6% of Greenfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1977.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
