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History · Leaf River Township

Leaf River Township’s post office opened in 1880, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

1880first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Leaf River Township began, and where its name came from

When was Leaf River Township founded?

1880

The Leaf River Township post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Leaf River (1880) and Leafriver (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 473146 years

How did Leaf River Township get its name?

The village received its name from the Leaf River, which was in turn named for the Leaf Mountains, which were called by the Ojibwa Gaaskibag-wajiwan.

More on the name

This name was translated by Gilfillan as "Rustling Leaf Mountains."

Founding year: the first Leaf River Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Leaf River 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 River Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Leaf River Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leaf River Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leaf River 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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Leaf River
1880–1882
Leafriver
1902–1908
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Wadena Air Force Stationmilitary
1cemetery inside Leaf River Township
Leaf River

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Leaf River Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leaf River Township.

Read it all →

The village of Leaf River had a post office from 1880 until 1882, and again from 1902 until 1908. It was served by a station of the Great Northern Railway.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Leaf River Township, 1880 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Leaf River post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Leaf River post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Leafriver post office opens
  6. 1908Post officeThe Leafriver post office closes
By decade

Leaf River Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Leaf River Town Hall, Leaf River, Minnesota-vert2024Leaf River Town Hall, Leaf River, Minnesota-vertLeaf River Town Hall, Leaf River, Minnesota-horz2024Leaf River Town Hall, Leaf River, Minnesota-horzLeaf River Town Hall (back), Leaf River, Minnesota2024Leaf River Town Hall (back), Leaf River, MinnesotaLeafRiverTownHall2020LeafRiverTownHall
Famous people

Famous people close to Leaf River Township

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

See all →
Kenneth ArnoldAmerican aviator and businessman · b. 1915
Lesley J. McNairRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1883
Forrest MarsAmerican businessman · b. 1904
David JoergerAmerican basketball coach · b. 1974
Peter HayesAmerican guitarist · b. 1976
E
Elizabeth ColsonUS social anthropologist · b. 1917
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wadena3 historic placesB+Wadena TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRockwood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBluffton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWing River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Leaf River Township’s history

What year was Leaf River Township founded?

The Leaf River Township post office opened in 1880, 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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, 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.