On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Krain Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Krain 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 Krain Township’s 111 sits above most of its state (97% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Krain Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Krain Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Krain Township is a township in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 981 at the 2010 census. The township includes the city of St. Anthony. Krain Township was organized in 1872, and named for the Austrian Krain region (now part of Slovenia), the native home of a share of the early settlers. The township contains one property listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Anton Gogala Farmstead, established around 1875.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 981 in 2010, 984 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Krain Township in 1915
Passages that mention Krain Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Stearns County, Minnesota1915 · page 1375Read the page →
Read the text
Krain Township. — The first school in Krain was taught by Joseph Gasperlin at his residence, the term commencing January 12, 1874. It is not known how many pupils attended. Shortly after a schoolhouse was erected near the present location in the village of St. Anthony, across the road from the Catholic church. For
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Krain Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1965Albany 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 Krain Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Krain Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Krain Township is more historic than 92% 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 Krain Township?
One place: the Anton Gogala Farmstead (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Krain Township?
21% of Krain Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
