The story
Read it all →How Oak Lawn Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Oak Lawn Township.
Oak Lawn Township was named for the clearings in the otherwise dense oak forest.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Oak Lawn Township
Half of Oak Lawn Township’s homes were built after 1983
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Oak Lawn Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1915 on.
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Oak Lawn Township’s history
How historic is Oak Lawn Township?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Oak Lawn Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Lawn Township is more historic than 17% 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 Oak Lawn Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.0% of homes (±3.5) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
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 Oak Lawn 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points).
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 Oak Lawn 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 Oak Lawn Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak Lawn 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Loerch
Woodrow
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lazy Acre's Trailer CourtLoerchWoodrow
Gone or out of use
LoerchlocaleLoerch Post Officepost officeWoodrow Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Oak Lawn Township, 1904 to 1931
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
Oak Lawn Township on the map, 1915 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oak Lawn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Brainerd 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 Oak Lawn Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Oak Lawn Township
Nobody well known was born in Oak Lawn Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Oak Lawn Township’s history
How does Oak Lawn Township rank for history?
Oak Lawn Township is more historic than 17% 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 Oak Lawn Township?
5% of Oak Lawn Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 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.