The Maine Prairie Township post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Maine Prairie (1863) and Marty (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,886163 years
How historic is Maine Prairie Township?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Maine Prairie Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Maine Prairie Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maine Prairie Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maine Prairie Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Maine Prairie Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Maine Prairie Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Maine Prairie
1863–1905
Marty
1901–1904
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Marty
Gone or out of use
Marty Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Maine Prairie Township
KimballMaine PrairieSaint Annes
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Maine Prairie Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Maine Prairie Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Maine Prairie Township is a township in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,887 at the 2010 census. Maine Prairie Township was organized in 1858, and named after the state of Maine, the native home of a large share of its first settlers.
Its first post office opened in 1863. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,887 in 2010, 1,886 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Maine Prairie Township in 1915
Passages that mention Maine Prairie Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Stearns County, Minnesota1915 · page 1382Read the page →
Read the text
Maine Prairie Township. — The first school in this township was taught by Mrs. Alonzo Spaulding at her residence in the summer of 1857. It was a private venture, a small tuition being charged. In 1859 District Number 28, known locally as the Atwood school, was organized. No schoolhouse was available for the first
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Maine Prairie Township, 1863 to 1967
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maine Prairie Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1967Kimball 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 Maine Prairie Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Maine Prairie Township
Nobody well known was born in Maine Prairie Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Maine Prairie Township post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Maine Prairie Township rank for history?
Maine Prairie Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Maine Prairie Township?
12% of Maine Prairie Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1977.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
