The land of Marshall Township originally contained a few small, shallow lakes, but they have since been drained to allow for increased farming. Helge Erickson. a Norwegian, settled in the western half of the southwest quadrant of section 36 in 1856 and John Osmunsen (born Jone Hauske Osmundson), another Norwegian, came from Wisconsin and settled in the eastern half of the southeast quadrant of the same section the following year together with his wife Ellen Serena Osmundsen (born Vignes, Hansdatter / daughter of Hans and Siri Olsen Finnøy, Norway). The township was first named "York" and later "Beach" before finally being named for William Rainey Marshall in 1870. Marshall was the fifth Governor of Minnesota and he owned land in Marshall Township from 1868 to 1874. At the organizing meeting of June 6, 1870, the people of the township elected two supervisors, a chairman, a clerk, an …
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marshall Township.
1985Austin sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marshall Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
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.