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History · Northfield Township

Northfield Township dates to 1855, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1880.

1855founded
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Northfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Northfield Township began

When was Northfield Township founded?

1855

Northfield Township dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,296 in 18802020 census: 857171 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
The story

How Northfield Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northfield Township.

Read it all →

Southern Minnesota was first settled by the indigenous Mdewakanton and Wahpekute Dakota peoples in the late 1700s, after battling with the Ojibwe and being expelled from northern Minnesota. The Wahpekute settled in the Big Woods region, which included most of what is now Northfield and Faribault. The Wahpekute used the Cannon and Straight rivers for easy transportation and game hunting. They engaged in the burgeoning Minnesota fur trade, leading Alexander Faribault to establish a trading post in Wahpekute territory in 1826, which became the town of Faribault in 1855. In 1834, the Wahpekute tribe moved their settlement to Faribault's trading post, leading to a confluence of economic and cultural engagement.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Northfield Township, 1855 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingNorthfield Township is established
  3. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota 1869
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveCongragational (sic) Church, Northfield, Minnesota - DPLA - ff7c5475a4f0d18dafb972baed56b…
  6. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Northfield Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bird's eye view of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota 18691869Bird's eye view of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota…
1900s4 items
Congragational (sic) Church, Northfield, Minnesota - DPLA - ff7c5475a4f0d18dafb972baed56b2c31900–1910Congragational (sic) Church, Northfield, Minnesota - …PostcardPostcard to Karen Berdahl with Jennie and Ole holding baby Olaf, Northfield, Minnesota - DPLA - f420c86bcb46dcc90a3d81a…1901Postcard to Karen Berdahl with Jennie and Ole holding…Postcard"Bald Spot," Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota - DPLA - 3f12789484cd604668b8941086e284bd1906–1914"Bald Spot," Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota …Postcard"The Foxy Four," Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota - DPLA - 3e10dbbe103d516d45f3c552212256291907"The Foxy Four," Carleton College, Northfield, Minnes…Postcard
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

Northfield Township on the map, 1960 to 1985

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

Northfield Township on the 1960 USGS mapNorthfield Township on the 1985 USGS map1960Dennison 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 Northfield Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota 1869, 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Northfield Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Northfield Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001880190019201940196019802000202020,790

Grew from 2,296 people in 1880 to 20,790 in 2020, 9 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Northfield 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 viewBird's eye view of Northfield, Rice Cou…: 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.

Northfield14 historic placesB+Bridgewater Township1 historic placeBDennisonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWheeling Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaterford Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarsaw TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSciota TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Northfield Township’s history

What year was Northfield Township founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 2,296 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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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.