The Middleville Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Smith Lake (1871) and Middleville (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,009152 years
How historic is Middleville Township?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Middleville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Middleville Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middleville Township is more historic than 42% 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 Middleville 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 Middleville 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 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 Middleville 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.
Smith Lake
1871–1914
Middleville
1874–1893
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlbrightHighlandSmith Lake
Gone or out of use
Smith Lake Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middleville Township
BethelBethlehemHighlandReinmuthSylvan
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Middleville Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Middleville Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Middleville Township is a township in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 925 at the 2000 census. Middleville Township was organized in 1858, and named after a place in Virginia.
Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 937 to 1,009 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Middleville Township, 1871 to 1958
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 Middleville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Cokato sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Middleville Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Middleville Township
Nobody well known was born in Middleville Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Middleville Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Middleville Township rank for history?
Middleville Township is more historic than 42% 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 Middleville Township?
22% of Middleville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 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) 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.
