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History · Harrison Township

Harrison Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harrison Township began

When was Harrison Township founded?

1858

The Harrison Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Harrison (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 554168 years
Founding year: the first Harrison Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Harrison 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 Harrison Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrison Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrison 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

Harrison Township, in brief

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

Harrison Township is a township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 665 at the 2000 census. Harrison Township was organized in 1858, and named for Joseph D. Harris, an early settler.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 576 to 554 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Harrison Township, 1858 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Harrison post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Harrison post office closes
  5. 1956On 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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Harrison Township on the map, 1956 to 1983

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

Harrison Township on the 1956 USGS mapHarrison Township on the 1983 USGS map1956Atwater sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Harrison Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Harrison Township

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

See all →
Rick SwensonAmerican musher · b. 1950
E
Elmer FeigAmerican architect · b. 1897
Seth OlsenAmerican football player · b. 1985
Kenneth L. OlsonUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1945
M
Mary OlsonAmerican politician · b. 1958
Shane ZylstraAmerican football tight end · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harrison Township
OaksideSaint John Evangelical Lutheran

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.

Irving TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSwede Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreen Lake Township1 historic placeB−Gennessee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Harrison Township’s history

What year was Harrison Township founded?

The Harrison Township post office opened in 1858, 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 →
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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.