The Kalmar Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Kalmar (1856) and Douglas (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,117170 years
How historic is Kalmar Township?
C+
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kalmar Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Kalmar Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kalmar Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kalmar Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kalmar Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Kalmar Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kalmar
1856–1859
Douglas
1878–1963
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DouglasPost Town
Gone or out of use
DouglaslocaleDouglas Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kalmar Township
Center GroveMount Hope
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Kalmar Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kalmar Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Kalmar Township is a township in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2000 census. It surrounds the city of Byron. Kalmar Township was organized in 1858, and named after Kalmar, in Sweden.
Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,046 to 1,117 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Kalmar Township, 1856 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Kalmar Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kalmar Township rank for history?
Kalmar Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Kalmar Township?
19% of Kalmar Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1980.
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).
From 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.
