The story
Read it all →How Morse Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Morse Township.
Morse Township was named for J. C. Morse, a businessperson in the mining industry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Morse Township
2 of Morse Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Morse Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1933 on.
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Morse Township’s history
How historic is Morse Township?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Morse Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morse Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morse Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19408.2% of homes (±2.7) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 22 historic buildings, 192 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
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 Morse Township’s 192 sits above most of its state (99% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Morse Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Morse Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Morse Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Another post office, Burntside, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BurntsideBurntside LakeRobinson
Gone or out of use
Burntside Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Morse Township, 1923 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Morse Township on the map, 1933 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morse Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Ely sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Morse Township.
On the National Register
2 listings protect 22 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Burntside Lodge Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Rustic1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Morse Township
Nobody well known was born in Morse Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
M
Mike KarakasAmerican ice hockey goaltender · b. 1911Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Morse Township’s history
How does Morse Township rank for history?
Morse Township is more historic than 76% 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.
What is on the National Register in Morse Township?
Two places: the Burntside Lodge Historic District (listed 1988) and the Listening Point (2007).
How old are the homes in Morse Township?
8% of Morse Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1979.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.