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History · Mayville Township

Mayville Township’s post office opened in 1861, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1861first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Mayville Township began

When was Mayville Township founded?

1861

The Mayville Township post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mayville (1861), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 366165 years
Founding year: the first Mayville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mayville 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 Mayville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mayville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mayville 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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The story so far

Mayville Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mayville Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mayville Township is a township in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 427 at the 2000 census. Mayville Township was organized in 1858, and named after Mayville, New York, the native home of an early settler.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 409 to 366 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mayville Township in 1919

Passages that mention Mayville Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

District No. 43, Mayville Township, was organized in the late fifties. The first school was held at the home of Charles Murphy, under the instruction of Mary Murphy. The first schoolhouse was built in 1859. The first trustees were Henry Wiltgen, James Connolly and T. J. Murphy.
History of Houston County, Minnesota1919 · page 127Read the page →
Read the text

District No. 43, Mayville Township, was organized in the late fifties. The first school was held at the home of Charles Murphy, under the instruction of Mary Murphy. The first schoolhouse was built in 1859. The first trustees were Henry Wiltgen, James Connolly and T. J. Murphy.

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.

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.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Mayville Township

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

See all →
K
Ken NelsonAmerican record producer · b. 1911
D
Dave KunstWalked around the world · b. 1939
H
Herbert John BurgmanAmerican broadcaster · b. 1894
L
Lloyd L. DuxburyAmerican politician · b. 1922
M
Milt GantenbeinAmerican football player · b. 1910
Roy PattersonAmerican baseball player · b. 1876
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

1cemetery inside Mayville Township
Grove Prairie

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.

Caledonia Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWinnebago Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrooked Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrownsville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCaledonia4 historic placesA−

Questions about Mayville Township’s history

What year was Mayville Township founded?

The Mayville Township post office opened in 1861, 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 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.