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History · Osakis Township

Osakis Township dates to 1866

Most of Osakis Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1880.

1866founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Osakis Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Osakis Township began

When was Osakis Township founded?

1866

Osakis Township dates its founding to 1866 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 252 in 18802020 census: 681160 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
The story

How Osakis Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Osakis Township.

Read it all →

The John B. Johnson House is located in Osakis and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Osakis Township, 1866 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingOsakis Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907In the archiveBattle Point, Lake Osakis
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Osakis Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s6 items
Battle Point, Lake Osakis1907Battle Point, Lake OsakisBattle Point, Lake Osakis1907Battle Point, Lake OsakisOsakis, Minn1907Osakis, MinnMarket day1907Market dayLake Osakis1908Lake OsakisIdlewood Cottages, Lake Osakis1908Idlewood Cottages, Lake Osakis
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
Today6 recent
Ed Pollard Community Hall & Fire Hall2025Ed Pollard Community Hall & Fire HallCommercial storefronts on Central Avenue2025Commercial storefronts on Central AvenueCity Hall & Police Station, Osakis, Minnesota 022025City Hall & Police Station, Osakis, Minnesota 02City Hall & Police Station, Osakis, Minnesota 012025City Hall & Police Station, Osakis, Minnesota 01Central Avenue2025Central AvenueCafe2025Cafe
On the map

Osakis Township on the map, 1966 to 1986

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

Osakis Township on the 1966 USGS mapOsakis Township on the 1986 USGS map1966Lake Osakis West 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 Osakis 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.

Battle Point, Lake Osakis
Retake this viewBattle Point, Lake Osakis, 1907

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Osakis Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800188019001920194019601980200020201,771

Grew from 252 people in 1880 to 1,771 in 2020, 7 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
K and K Airstripairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Osakis Township
CalvaryFahlunNelson

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

Help out

Finish Osakis 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 viewBattle Point, Lake Osakis: 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.

Osakis1 historic placeBBelle River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNelsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGordon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlexandria TownshipIts storyC−Orange TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Osakis Township’s history

What year was Osakis Township founded?

In 1866, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 252 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 (6), the Library of Congress (6), 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.