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History · Holden Township

Holden Township’s post office opened in 1860, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 94 buildings.

1860first post office
1on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Holden Township began

When was Holden Township founded?

1860

The Holden Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Holden (1860) and Nansen (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 383166 years
Founding year: the first Holden Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Holden 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 Holden Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Nansen Agricultural Historic District takes in 94 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Holden Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Holden Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holden Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 94 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
94
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Nansen Agricultural Historic District
Nansen Agricultural Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Italianate1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
All 1 listings
Nansen Agricultural Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Holden Township, in brief

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

Holden Township is a township in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 457 at the 2000 census. Holden Township was organized in 1858.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 454 to 383 (-16%).

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

Timeline

Holden Township, 1860 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Holden post office opens
  3. 1898Post officeThe Nansen post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Holden post office closes
  6. 1905Post officeThe Nansen post office closes
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.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Holden Township

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

See all →
Andrew VolsteadAmerican politician · b. 1859
S
Steven EnglerAmerican politician – Minnesota -- "Steve" Sena… · b. 1949
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Holden
1860–1903
Nansen
1898–1905
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Nansen
Gone or out of use
Nansen Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Holden Township
German Methodist EpiscopalKnollLittle CannonSaint MichaelsWangs

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.

Wanamingo Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarsaw TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKenyon Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWheeling Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Holden Township’s history

What year was Holden Township founded?

The Holden Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Holden Township?

One place: the Nansen Agricultural Historic District (listed 2000).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.