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History · Ottawa Township

Ottawa Township’s post office opened in 1856, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register.

1856first post office
6on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Ottawa Township began

When was Ottawa Township founded?

1856

The Ottawa Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ottawa (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 287170 years
Founding year: the first Ottawa Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
On the National Register

6 historic places in Ottawa Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal ChurchOttawa Township HallTrinity Chapel-EpiscopalCharles Schwartz House and BarnJohn Rinshed HouseNeedham-Hayes House
Buildings
Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding
Ottawa Township HallBuilding
Trinity Chapel-EpiscopalBuilding
All 6 listings
Charles Schwartz House and BarnBuilding · listed 1982John Rinshed HouseBuilding · listed 1982Needham-Hayes HouseBuilding · listed 1982

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ottawa
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ottawa Township
Elim WelshOttawa

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.

Lake Prairie Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLe Sueur5 historic placesB+Sharon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHenderson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKasota Township2 historic placesB−Tyrone Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ottawa Township’s history

What year was Ottawa Township founded?

The Ottawa Township post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ottawa Township?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Methodist Episcopal Church (listed 1982, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.