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History · Janesville Township

Janesville Township dates to 1856, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Seha Sorghum Mill and the Hoffman Apiaries. Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1880.

1856founded
2on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Janesville Township began

When was Janesville Township founded?

1856

Janesville Township dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,021 in 18802020 census: 576170 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Janesville 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 Janesville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Janesville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Janesville 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 Janesville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Janesville Township.

Read it all →

The city of Janesville was established in 1856. A post office called Janesville has been in operation since 1858. The city was named for Mrs. Jane Sprague, an early settler. Janesville was incorporated in 1870. Janesville contains two properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hofmann Apiaries established in 1907 and the 1912 Janesville Free Public Library.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Janesville Township, 1856 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingJanesville Township is established
  3. 1876Post officeThe Smith Mill post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907BuiltHoffman Apiaries is built
  6. 1963Post officeThe Smith Mill post office closes
  7. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Janesville Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Janesville, Minnesota2024Janesville, MinnesotaHofmannFarm2016HofmannFarm2009-0805-MN-Janesville20092009-0805-MN-Janesville2009-0805-JanesvilleFreePubLib20092009-0805-JanesvilleFreePubLibMNMap-doton-Janesville2005MNMap-doton-Janesville
On the map

Janesville Township on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Janesville Township on the 1966 USGS mapJanesville Township on the 1985 USGS map1966Elysian 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 Janesville Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Janesville Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Seha Sorghum Mill
Seha Sorghum MillHoffman Apiaries, built 1907
Buildings
Seha Sorghum MillBuilding
Hoffman ApiariesBuilt 1907

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

People over time

Janesville Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500188019001920194019601980200020202,421

Grew from 1,021 people in 1880 to 2,421 in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Smith Mill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake ElysianSmiths Mill
Gone or out of use
Smiths Mill Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Janesville Township
Cedar HillJanesvilleSmith's Mill

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.

Janesville1 historic placeB−Le Ray TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIosco TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElysian1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElysian Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Janesville Township’s history

What year was Janesville Township founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. Janesville Township’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1880 counted 1,021 people here.

What is on the National Register in Janesville Township?

Two places: the Seha Sorghum Mill (listed 1979) and the Hoffman Apiaries (2016).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.