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History · Little Rock Township

Little Rock Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Little Rock Township began

When was Little Rock Township founded?

1874

The Little Rock Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Little Rock (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 206152 years
Founding year: the first Little Rock Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Little Rock 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 Little Rock Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Little Rock Township’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Little Rock Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Little Rock 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

How Little Rock Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Little Rock Township.

Read it all →

Organization of Little Rock Township was approved by the Nobles County Board on September 3, 1872. On Joseph Nicollet's original 1842 map of the region, the Blue Mound near present-day Luverne is simply designated as The Rock. The river that flows near it was known by the Indians as Inyan Reakah, or River of the Rock. We know this as the Rock River. Little Rock Township gets its name from the Little Rock River that flows through the township and is one of the major tributaries of the Rock River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Little Rock Township, 1874 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Little Rock post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Little Rock post office closes
  5. 1967On 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.
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On the map

Little Rock Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Little Rock Township on the 1967 USGS mapLittle Rock Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Adrian SW 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 Little Rock Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Little Rock Township

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

See all →
Nicholas WolterstorffAmerican philosopher (b. 1932) · b. 1932
C
Carleton Roy BallAmerican botanist · b. 1873
Robert W. GrowUnited States Army general · b. 1895
Patricia A. ThielAmerican chemist · b. 1953
D
Donald Jay GroutAmerican musicologist · b. 1902
Bob LockerAmerican baseball player · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Little Rock, opened and closed inside today’s town.

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Little Rock Township
Norwegian LutheranSunrise

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.

Grand Prairie Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRansom TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOlney TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Little Rock Township’s history

What year was Little Rock Township founded?

The Little Rock Township post office opened in 1874, 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 Wikipedia, 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.