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CourthouseMantorvilleMNPhoto: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHistory
History · Mantorville Township

Mantorville Township dates to 1854, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1860.

1854founded
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Mantorville Township began

When was Mantorville Township founded?

1854

Mantorville Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 280 in 18602020 census: 1,874172 years

How historic is Mantorville Township?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mantorville Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mantorville 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 Mantorville Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.5% of homes (±5.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
NewerOlder

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 Mantorville 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1854.
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 (±5.2 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mantorville 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 Mantorville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1920, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mantorville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mantorville 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
People over time

Mantorville Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200190019502000622 in 1870Low: 381

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1920, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mantorville Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Mantorville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mantorville Township.

Read it all →

Founded in 1854, the city is one of Minnesota's oldest cities.

Mantorville is known as the source of Mantorville limestone, which found its way into buildings across the United States. The limestone quarried in the area was soft and easily carved when first extracted, but became harder as it endured the elements, making it a long-lasting building material. The historic Hubbell House used the stone in 1856, and it was likewise used in 1865 for the Dodge County Courthouse, designed by E. Townsend Mix and Minnesota's oldest working courthouse.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mantorville Township, 1854 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingMantorville Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,197
By decade

Mantorville Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Mantorville Dam2025Mantorville DamDodge County Government Services2025Dodge County Government ServicesStagecoach Road Mantorville Mn2021Stagecoach Road Mantorville MnStage Coach Road2021Stage Coach RoadMantorville Courthouse Mn2021Mantorville Courthouse MnMNMap-doton-Mantorville2005MNMap-doton-Mantorville
On the map

Mantorville Township on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Mantorville Township on the 1965 USGS mapMantorville Township on the 1982 USGS map1965Byron 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 Mantorville Township.

Places that used to be

Old corners

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Danesville

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.

Kasson5 historic placesB−Mantorville2 historic placesB+Canisteo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKalmar TownshipIts storyC+Milton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWasioja Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mantorville Township’s history

What year was Mantorville Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. the census of 1860 counted 280 people here.

How does Mantorville Township rank for history?

Mantorville 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 Mantorville Township?

12% of Mantorville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1988.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.