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History · Leaf Lake Township

20% of Leaf Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on.

0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Leaf Lake 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 Leaf Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leaf Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leaf Lake 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

How Leaf Lake Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leaf Lake Township.

Read it all →

Leaf Lake Township was organized in 1879. This township is named for two lakes, East and West Leaf Lakes, which extend nearly across the township from east to west about the center of the township. Leaf River and Willow Creek flow into East Leaf lake from the north and south ends. Leaf Lake Township was without a railroad until 1902, when the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad was built through Otter Tail County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Leaf Lake Township on the map, 1969 to 1986

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

Leaf Lake Township on the 1969 USGS mapLeaf Lake Township on the 1986 USGS map1969Heinola 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 Leaf Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Leaf Lake Township

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

See all →
Peter HayesAmerican guitarist · b. 1976
D
Duane ChristophersonAmerican football coach · b. 1930
E
Emery FletcherAmerican religious leader · b. 1868
E
Erle WhitingAmerican Latter Day Saints leader · b. 1876
R
Rupert FletcherAmerican religious leader · b. 1896
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Leaf City
Gone or out of use
School Number 117schoolSchool Number 135school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Leaf Lake Township
Leaf LakeLeaf LakeLeaf LakeSaint John's Lutheran Church

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.

Deer Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHenning TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOtter Tail Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOtto TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOttertailIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Leaf Lake Township’s history

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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.