Northern Township’s post office opened in 1915, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #202 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Northern Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1900.
The Northern Township post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lavinia (1906) and Northern (1915), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 114 in 19002020 census: 4,535111 years
How historic is Northern Township?
C−
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Northern Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Northern Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northern Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #202 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northern 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 Northern Township’s 5.5 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Northern 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.
Lavinia
1906–1939
Northern
1915–1916
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BirchmontGene Moen Manufactured Home ParkLaviniaMovil Lake Trailer ParkNorthern Trailer ParkWoodland Park
Gone or out of use
Lavinia Post Officepost officeLavinia Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Northern Township
Northern
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Northern Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Northern Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Northern Township is a township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,535 as of the 2020 United States Census. Northern Township was named from its location on the north shore of Lake Bemidji. Northern Township was granted incorporation in February 2026 to form the new city of Northern, avoiding annexation into neighboring Bemidji. The township will host its first election for mayor and council on November 3, 2026.
Its first post office opened in 1915. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,657 to 4,535 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Northern Township, 1906 to 1972
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 Northern Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1972Turtle River sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Northern Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Northern Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Northern Township post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Northern Township rank for history?
Northern Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #202 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Northern Township?
One place: the Lake Bemidji State Park CCC/NYA/Rustic Style Historic Resources (listed 1989).
How old are the homes in Northern Township?
3% of Northern Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
