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History · Oakland Township

48% of Oakland Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on.

0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Oakland Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Oakland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oakland Township’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Oakland Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oakland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oakland is an unincorporated community in Oakland Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States, near Albert Lea and Austin. It is along Interstate 90, County Road 46, and County Road 34 / 890th Avenue.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 396 to 357 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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.
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On the map

Oakland Township on the map, 1954 to 1982

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

Oakland Township on the 1954 USGS mapOakland Township on the 1982 USGS map1954Hayward 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 Oakland Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Oakland Township

Nobody well known was born in Oakland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
Jane BloomingdaleAmerican politician in the state of Iowa · b. 1956
M
Matt JohnsonAmerican politician in North Dakota · b. 1871
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakland Township
HillsideKennevan FamilyKestnerOakland Lutheran

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

London TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoscow TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAustin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHayward Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oakland Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.