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History · Houston Township

46% of Houston Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Houston 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 Houston Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Houston Township’s homes were built before 1953.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Houston 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

How Houston Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Houston Township.

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The community was named after Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1852, William McSpadden platted the original site of the Village of Houston. McSpadden had served under Sam Houston in the Mexican–American War. Pioneers followed him into the area and by 1854 there were stores and a school among the settlement's approximately 40 buildings.

The 2007 Midwest flooding caused the Root River to rise to 19 feet (5.8 m), about a foot short of the height of the dike protecting the town, necessitating evacuation of the community.

Chapters2007 flood

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Houston Township in 1919

Passages that mention Houston Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

District No. 83, Houston Township, was a part of District 15 for many years. It was set off about 1871. The first school was held in the Swedish Baptist Church with Miss Sheldon, of Mound Prairie, as the teacher.
History of Houston County, Minnesota1919 · page 131Read the page →
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District No. 83, Houston Township, was a part of District 15 for many years. It was set off about 1871. The first school was held in the Swedish Baptist Church with Miss Sheldon, of Mound Prairie, as the teacher.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
work, there would be little use for schoolhouses, so the building remained incomplete, and no school was kept there until one or two years after the war was over. The first teacher was Miss Mary Pierce, who resided on the south side of the river in Houston Township. After the war the house was comp…
History of Houston County, Minnesota1919 · page 123Read the page →
Read the text

work, there would be little use for schoolhouses, so the building remained incomplete, and no school was kept there until one or two years after the war was over. The first teacher was Miss Mary Pierce, who resided on the south side of the river in Houston Township. After the war the house was completed. District No. 9, Money Creek Township. In this district the first school was opened by Ellen Robinson, in a log building on the Todd farm, opposite the residence of her father, S. Robinson. The house had been erected

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Houston Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
American Legion Houston2023American Legion HoustonSign Minnesota State Highway 762022Sign Minnesota State Highway 76Houston sign, Houston, Minnesota2012Houston sign, Houston, MinnesotaHistoric Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Houston Nature Center from Parking Lot2006Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Houston Nature …Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Houston Nature Center2006Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Houston Nature …Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Cat Art at Houston Nature Center2006Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Cat Art at Hous…
On the map

Houston Township on the map, 1958 to 1980

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

Houston Township on the 1958 USGS mapHouston Township on the 1980 USGS map1958Houston 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 Houston Township.

People over time

Houston Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,090

Between 510 and 1,090 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Houston Township
First Swedish BaptistHillsideJohnstonsLooney ValleyOld RidgeSaint MarysSaint PetersSwenson and Anderson

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.

HoustonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoney Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSheldon Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townYucatan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMound Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Houston Township’s history

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

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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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.