Its Register listing is the Minnesota and International Railroad Freight House and Shelter Shed. Most of Lake Edward Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1973 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Edward Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Edward 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 Lake Edward Township’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 Lake Edward 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 Lake Edward Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lake Edward Township (or Lake Edwards Township) is a township in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,108 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Merrifield is located within Lake Edward Township.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,085 in 2010, 2,108 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lake Edward Township, 1897 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Edward Township.
1973Merrifield 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 Edward Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Lake Edward Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Lake Edward Township is more historic than 45% 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 Lake Edward Township?
One place: the Minnesota and International Railroad Freight House and Shelter Shed (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Lake Edward Township?
7% of Lake Edward Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
