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History · Morris Township

Morris Township dates to 1869, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morris Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morris Township began

When was Morris Township founded?

1869

Morris Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 743 in 18802020 census: 393157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Morris Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.
★ What stands out · Then & now

The same spot, years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Morris Carnegie LibraryCarnegie Library1909Today
Carnegie LibraryMatched from the two captions
The story

How Morris Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Morris Township.

Read it all →

Morris was platted in 1869 and named for Charles F. Morris, a railroad engineer. A post office has been in operation at Morris since 1871, when Morris township was organized. It was incorporated as a village in 1878 and as a city in 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Morris Township, 1869 to 1912

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingMorris Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909In the archiveStevens County Court House, Morris, Minn
  5. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Morris Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s9 items
Stevens County Court House, Morris, Minn1909Stevens County Court House, Morris, MinnMorris, Minn. [Morris City Mills]1909Morris, Minn. [Morris City Mills]Assumption Church1909Assumption ChurchAtlantic Ave1909Atlantic AveIndian School1909Indian SchoolAssumption Church1909Assumption ChurchHigh School1909High SchoolCarnegie Library1909Carnegie LibraryAssumption Church1909Assumption Church
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Morris Township on the map, 1912 to 1973

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

Morris Township on the 1912 USGS mapMorris Township on the 1973 USGS map1912Morris 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 Morris Township.

People over time

Morris Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,613

Between 743 and 5,613 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
School Number 15schoolSchool Number 22schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 60school

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Morris Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStevens County Court House, Morris, Minn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Morris5 historic placesB+Rendsville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFramnas TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPepperton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDarnen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Morris Township’s history

What year was Morris Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 743 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (3), 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.