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History · Lake Belt Township

Lake Belt Township’s post office opened in 1873, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lake Belt Township began

When was Lake Belt Township founded?

1873

The Lake Belt Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake Belt (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 190153 years
Founding year: the first Lake Belt Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lake Belt 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 Lake Belt Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lake Belt Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Belt Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Belt 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 so far

Lake Belt Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake Belt Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lake Belt Township is a township in Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 237 at the 2000 census. Lake Belt Township was organized in 1867.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 189 in 2010, 190 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lake Belt Township, 1873 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Lake Belt post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Lake Belt post office closes
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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On the map

Lake Belt Township on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Lake Belt Township on the 1970 USGS mapLake Belt Township on the 1985 USGS map1970Ceylon 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 Lake Belt Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Belt Township

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

See all →
Walter MondaleVice President of the United States from 1977 t… · b. 1928
David EllefsonAmerican bass guitarist · b. 1964
Dale GardnerAmerican astronaut · b. 1948
D
Dixie WillsonAmerican writer, screenwriter · b. 1890
Michael IzenAmerican Roman Catholic minister, Auxiliary Bis… · b. 1967
K
Kay HalloranAmerican politician · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Lake Belt, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Lake Belt Township
Lake Belt

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.

Manyaska TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTenhassen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake Fremont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Belt Township’s history

What year was Lake Belt Township founded?

The Lake Belt Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.