The area upon where Lake Park was founded, started to be settled in 1841 by fur traders while a Dakota encampment still existed on Lake Flora on which part of the City Park is now located.
The area was originally founded as Liberty Township. In 1871, the Liberty Township Board changed the name to Lake Park Township; for which the name "Lake Park" comes from a Dakota phrase of "Where the Prairies meet the Waters" as the site became a railway stop for the Great Northern Railway by the town founder, James Canfield.
Passages that mention Lake Park Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A pioneer history of Becker County, Minnesota, including a brief account of its natural history ... and a history of the early settlement of the county1907 · page 425Read the page →
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Minnesota. Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Anne E. Bjorge, May 23rd, 1869. He arrived at Oak Lake, Becker County, June 28th, 1871, and later in the same year purchased some railroad land in the western part of Lake Park Township. At the first town meeting held in the township of Lake Park, at that time called the town of Liberty, Mr. Johnson was elected on the board of township supervisors. He stayed in Becker County a short time, and went to Minneapolis in 1872. At Minneapolis he became associated with
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A pioneer history of Becker County, Minnesota, including a brief account of its natural history ... and a history of the early settlement of the county1907 · page 519Read the page →
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to the United States in 1869. He lived two years in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and in 1870 came to Clitheral, in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, and in March, 1871, came to Becker County and took a claim on Section 18, in Lake Park Township, where he lived for four years. Since that time he has lived on Section 29 in the township of Cuba.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Park Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1966Big Cormorant Lake 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 Park Township.
People over time
Lake Park Township, census by census
Between 349 and 783 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Park Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
LaBelle
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Park Township
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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.
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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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