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Heron Lake, MNPhoto: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Heron Lake Township

42% of Heron Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Heron Lake 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 Heron Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 928 in 1900; 602 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Heron Lake Township’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Heron Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Heron Lake 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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People over time

Heron Lake Township, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 928

Peaked at 928 in 1900; 602 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Heron Lake Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Heron Lake Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Heron Lake Township.

Read it all →

Heron Lake was named in 1870 after a local lake where great blue herons were seen.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Heron Lake Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Heron Lake Watershed District Relief Map2022Heron Lake Watershed District Relief MapMapHeron Lake, MN2021Heron Lake, MNMNMap-doton-Heron Lake2005MNMap-doton-Heron Lake
On the map

Heron Lake Township on the map, 1970 to 1982

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

Heron Lake Township on the 1970 USGS mapHeron Lake Township on the 1982 USGS map1970Lakefield 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 Heron Lake Township.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
H Reder Fieldairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Heron Lake Township
BrillHeron LakeImmanuel

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.

West Heron Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakefieldIts storyC+Belmont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWeimer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDelafield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHunter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Heron Lake Township’s history

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.