Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Kerkhoven Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Kerkhoven Township

22% of Kerkhoven Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0

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

Start Kerkhoven Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kerkhoven 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

How Kerkhoven Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kerkhoven Township.

Read it all →

Kerkhoven was platted in 1870, and named for a railroad promoter. A post office has been in operation at Kerkhoven since 1871. Kerkhoven was incorporated in 1881.

The city name is Dutch meaning church cemeteries. It is from the persons who purchased bonds (Kerkhoven and Co. of Holland in 1864) of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (later the Great Northern etc.). The family name originally was van Kerckhoven (van=from, kerk=church and hoven=gardens or yards). They were financial persons purchasing interest-bearing bonds, but not active promoters of the fledgling prairie railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Kerkhoven Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Kerkhoven, Minnesota-032024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-03Kerkhoven, Minnesota-022024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-02Kerkhoven, Minnesota-012024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-0175 Dodge Dart Swinger201175 Dodge Dart SwingerThe Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Marching Saints2009The Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Marching SaintsMNMap-doton-Kerkhoven2005MNMap-doton-Kerkhoven
On the map

Kerkhoven Township on the map, 1968 to 1986

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

Kerkhoven Township on the 1968 USGS mapKerkhoven Township on the 1986 USGS map1968De Graff SE 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 Kerkhoven Township.

People over time

Kerkhoven Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020805

Grew from 94 people in 1880 to 805 in 2020, 8 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Kerkhoven Township

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

See all →
Andrew FalkAmerican politician · b. 1983
M
Manny SteeleAmerican politician · b. 1940
H
Howard Wads RundquistAmerican politician – Minnesota -House 1943-50 … · b. 1901
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hayes Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCamp Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGilchrist Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorway Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kerkhoven Township’s history

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 (6), 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.