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History · Pike Township

Pike Township’s post office opened in 1903, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1950 on.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Pike Township began

When was Pike Township founded?

1903

The Pike Township post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pike (1903) and Florenton (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 386123 years
Founding year: the first Pike Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Pike 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 Pike Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pike Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pike Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pike 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pike
1903–1915
Florenton
1908–1965
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Pike Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pike Township
Pike RiverWest Pike

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Pike Township, in brief

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

Pike Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 386 at the 2020 census. State Highway 169 (MN 169) and Saint Louis County Highway 21 (CR 21) are two of the main routes in the township. MN 169 runs north–south, and CR 21 runs east–west. Other routes include Taylor Road. The town is named for the Pike River, which is in turn named for the fish.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 417 to 386 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Pike Township, 1903 to 1965

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903BuiltHill, Matt and Emma, Historic Farmstead is built
  3. 1903Post officeThe Pike post office opens
  4. 1908Post officeThe Florenton post office opens
  5. 1915Post officeThe Pike post office closes
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1965Post officeThe Florenton post office closes
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 album
On the map

Pike Township on the map, 1950 to 1984

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

Pike Township on the 1950 USGS mapPike Township on the 1969 USGS mapPike Township on the 1984 USGS map1950Biwabik NE 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 Pike Township.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 6 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Hill, Matt and Emma, Historic Farmstead
Hill, Matt and Emma, Historic Farmstead, built 1903
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Log1
All 1 listings
Hill, Matt and Emma, Historic FarmsteadDistrict · listed 1990

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pike Township

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

See all →
Francine YorkAmerican actress, showgirl · b. 1936
Daniel BerriganAmerican Catholic priest, peace activist, and p… · b. 1921
Mark PavelichAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1958
Matt CullenAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1976
Nick BegichAmerican politician · b. 1932
F
Frank BrimsekAmerican ice hockey goaltender · b. 1915
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Embarrass Township5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSandy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVermilion Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pike Township’s history

What year was Pike Township founded?

The Pike Township post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pike Township?

One place: the Hill, Matt and Emma, Historic Farmstead (listed 1990).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.