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History · Hinckley Township

Hinckley Township dates to 1885, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1890.

1885founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hinckley Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hinckley Township began

When was Hinckley Township founded?

1885

Hinckley Township dates its founding to 1885 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 618 in 18902020 census: 744141 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hinckley 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hinckley Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hinckley Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Hinckley Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hinckley Township.

Read it all →

The Ojibwe Indians were the first people to settle the Hinckley area. They trapped and hunted on the land and traded furs at the Mille Lacs and Pokegama trading posts.

When European settlers came to the Hinckley area, it was a heavily forested area with thick forests of white pine, some of the largest in the state. The first railroad arrived in Hinckley in 1869; and so began a logging and railroad expansion.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hinckley Township, 1885 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885
    FoundingHinckley Township is established
  3. 1894In the archiveHinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire
  4. 20th century
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hinckley Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Hinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire1894Hinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Hinckley, Minnesota Post Office - USPS Building2018Hinckley, Minnesota Post Office - USPS BuildingThe Hinckley News - Local Newspaper in2018The Hinckley News - Local Newspaper inDocumentHinckley Minnesota2007Hinckley MinnesotaHinckley Minnesota (cropped)2007Hinckley Minnesota (cropped)MNMap-doton-Hinckley2005MNMap-doton-Hinckley
On the map

Hinckley Township on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Hinckley Township on the 1968 USGS mapHinckley Township on the 1985 USGS map1968Kroschel 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 Hinckley Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire
Retake this viewHinckley, Minnesota after the 1894 fire, 1894

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hinckley Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hinckley Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019001920194019601980200020201,904

Grew from 618 people in 1890 to 1,904 in 2020, 3 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Zeman Airportairport

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.

Hinckley1 historic placeB−Barry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPomroy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMission Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDell Grove Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrook Park TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hinckley Township’s history

What year was Hinckley Township founded?

In 1885, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 618 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (6), 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.