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History · Oshawa Township

Oshawa Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Oshawa Township began

When was Oshawa Township founded?

1858

The Oshawa Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oshawa (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 594168 years
Founding year: the first Oshawa Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Oshawa 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 Oshawa Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oshawa Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Oshawa Township, in brief

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

Oshawa Township is a township in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 525 at the 2000 census. Oshawa Township was organized in 1858 and named after Oshawa, Ontario, where some settlers came from.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 502 to 594 (+18%).

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

Timeline

Oshawa Township, 1858 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Oshawa post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909Post officeThe Oshawa post office closes
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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

Oshawa Township on the map, 1965 to 1991

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

Oshawa Township on the 1965 USGS mapOshawa Township on the 1986 USGS mapOshawa Township on the 1991 USGS map1965North Star 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 Oshawa Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Oshawa Township

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

See all →
Mike LindellAmerican businessman, political activist, and c… · b. 1961
Ron JohnsonAmerican politician · b. 1955
Rick RudeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1958
Jimmy ChinAmerican mountain climber, filmmaker · b. 1973
John LandsteinerAmerican male curler · b. 1990
Myrtle LindAmerican actress · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Oshawa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
North StarOshawa
Gone or out of use
OshawalocaleOshawa Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Oshawa Township
Resurrection

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Kasota Township2 historic placesB−Traverse TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelgrade TownshipIts storyCSt. Peter19 historic placesB+Granby TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKasota2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oshawa Township’s history

What year was Oshawa Township founded?

The Oshawa Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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, 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.