Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #210 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Harris Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1953 on.
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harris Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #210 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Harris 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 Harris Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Harris Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Harris Township is a township in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,276 at the 2020 census. Harris Township was named for Duncan Harris, a pioneer farmer.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,253 in 2010, 3,276 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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 Harris 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 Harris Township.
Nobody well known was born in Harris Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Harris Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #210 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.
7% of Harris Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 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.
