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B−History
History · Kasota Township

Kasota Township dates to 1855, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Kasota Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listings are the Bridge No. 4846 (1) and the John R. Andrews House. Its Register listings are the Bridge No. 4846 (1) and the John R. Andrews House. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1965 on, and the census since 1880.

1855founded
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kasota Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kasota Township began

When was Kasota Township founded?

1855

Kasota Township dates its founding to 1855 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 156 in 18802020 census: 1,573171 years

How historic is Kasota Township?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kasota Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kasota Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kasota Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.9% of homes (±3.9) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 13.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder

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 Kasota Township’s 13.1 sits above most of its state (79% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1855.
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 (±3.9 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Kasota Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1898–1965.
★ What stands out · By decade

Kasota Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s4 items
John A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emily, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - ecc89445a1bc79784ce155755df706cdc. 1898John A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emily, Kasota Tow…Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily in Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 540b4ecaa33be702e4cb8e1359c526fac. 1900Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily in Ka…Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily in Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 623a77481d74e6372998e6f3f774469bc. 1900Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily in Ka…Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - b71b6237203be08b5b15fef7be54d68dc. 1900Governor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily, Kaso…
1910s–1950snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1960s8 items
Flood damage to a building during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - f7c3bc8…1965Flood damage to a building during the 1965 flooding o…Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 19cfed13574a2d7243048814f3…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota Riv…Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 364357a860ef5e2bcc92fc1fc1…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota Riv…Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 93699de7fd159ea339f5972bb1…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota Riv…Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - c0a3e07c52a51550062b306db5…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flood of the Minnesota Riv…Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 0ec38565253f252db22413a…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota …Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 1329b0de9e461a8a4a78afa…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota …Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota River, Kasota Township, Minnesota. - DPLA - 3e82cd9a7552b780c0ba65…1965Highway 99 during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota …
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Kasota Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kasota Township.

Read it all →

Kasota was platted in 1855. "Kasota" is a name derived from the Dakota language word for "cleared off".

On July 1, 1892, the Sontag Brothers, John Sontag and George Contant, and their partner in crime, Chris Evans, tried to rob a train between St. Peter and Kasota along the Minnesota River. The bandits acquired nothing of value, but their activities came under the review of Pinkerton detectives, and both were apprehended in June 1893.

ChaptersThe stone industryNamesakes

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kasota Township, 1855 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingKasota Township is established
  3. 1898In the archiveJohn A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emily, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - ecc89445a1…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveGovernor and Mrs. John A. Johnson at Lake Emily in Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - 54…
  6. 1965In the archiveFlood damage to a building during the 1965 flooding of the Minnesota River, Kasota Townsh…
  7. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Kasota Township on the map, 1965 to 1991

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

Kasota Township on the 1965 USGS mapKasota Township on the 1979 USGS mapKasota Township on the 1991 USGS map1965St Peter 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 Kasota Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

John A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emily, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - ecc89445a1bc79784ce155755df706cd
Retake this viewJohn A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emily, Kasota Township, Minnesota - DPLA - ecc89445a1bc79784ce155755df706cd, c. 1898

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kasota Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Kasota Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
John R. Andrews House
Bridge No. 4846 (1)John R. Andrews House
BuildingsStructures
Bridge No. 4846 (1)Structure
All 2 listings
John R. Andrews HouseBuilding · listed 1978

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

People over time

Kasota Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 764

Between 156 and 764 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kasota Township
Lake EmilyPettis - Klaseus FamilyWoodlawn

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Kasota Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJohn A. Johnson and friends at Lake Emi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

St. Peter19 historic placesB+Kasota2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelgrade TownshipIts storyCOshawa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTraverse TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCleveland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLime TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMankato14 historic placesB+Ottawa Township6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kasota Township’s history

What year was Kasota Township founded?

In 1855, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 156 people here.

How does Kasota Township rank for history?

Kasota Township is more historic than 52% 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.

What is on the National Register in Kasota Township?

Two places: the Bridge No. 4846 (1) (listed 1981) and the John R. Andrews House (1978).

How old are the homes in Kasota Township?

10% of Kasota Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1980.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.