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History · Island Lake Township

Island Lake Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Island Lake Township began

When was Island Lake Township founded?

1874

The Island Lake Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Island Lake (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 172152 years
Founding year: the first Island Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Island 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 Island Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Island Lake Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Island Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Island 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Island Lake Township, in brief

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

Island Lake Township is a township in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 208 at the 2000 census. Island Lake Township was organized in 1879, and named for Island Lake.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 175 in 2010, 172 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Island Lake Township, 1874 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Island Lake post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Island Lake post office closes
  5. 1963On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Island Lake Township on the map in 1963

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Island Lake Township.

Island Lake Township on the 1963 USGS map1963Gislason Lake 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 Island Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Island Lake Township

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

See all →
S
Steve ZahnAmerican actor · b. 1967
T
Trey LanceAmerican football player · b. 2000
Richard F. KneipAmerican politician · b. 1933
B
Bill GullicksonAmerican baseball player · b. 1959
Har Mar SuperstarAmerican singer · b. 1978
L
Les JosephsonAmerican football player · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Island Lake Township
Island LakeZion

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.

Lake Stay TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNordland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCoon Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLynd Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLimestone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Island Lake Township’s history

What year was Island Lake Township founded?

The Island Lake Township post office opened in 1874, 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 →
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 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.