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History · Lake Stay Township

Lake Stay Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lake Stay Township began

When was Lake Stay Township founded?

1879

The Lake Stay Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake Stay (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 137147 years
Founding year: the first Lake Stay Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lake Stay 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 Stay Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lake Stay Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Stay Township’s collection

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

Lake Stay Township, in brief

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

Lake Stay Township is a township in Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 143 at the 2000 census. This township took its name from Lake Stay.

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 156 to 137 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Lake Stay Township, 1879 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Lake Stay post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Lake Stay post office closes
  5. 1963On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Lake Stay Township on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

Lake Stay Township on the 1963 USGS mapLake Stay Township on the 1985 USGS map1963Arco 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 Stay Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Stay Township

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

See all →
Richard F. KneipAmerican politician · b. 1933
Harold Koch BoysenAmerican flying ace · b. 1891
L
Les JosephsonAmerican football player · b. 1942
B
Bill HolmAmerican writer · b. 1943
Carl C. RasmussenClergyman and politician · b. 1901
M
Milt NielsenAmerican baseball player · b. 1925
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

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

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.

Island Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarshfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAsh Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLimestone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNordland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Stay Township’s history

What year was Lake Stay Township founded?

The Lake Stay Township post office opened in 1879, 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 and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.