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2009-0528-PineIsland-downtownCHPhoto: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0
–Not graded
History · Pine Island Township

30% of Pine Island Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Baslington, George, Farmhouse. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1880.

1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0

What stands out about Pine Island 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 Pine Island Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pine Island Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pine Island Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pine Island 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

How Pine Island Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pine Island Township.

Read it all →

Pine Island was platted in 1856. A post office has been in operation at Pine Island since 1856. The name of the town originates from an ancient Dakota language name Wazi Wíta (Island of Pines) originating from a cluster of pine trees at a bend in the river on the site of the modern-day town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Pine Island Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Stuffed burger - jucy lucy variation2009Stuffed burger - jucy lucy variationRawBacon2009RawBaconButterCheeseFactory2009ButterCheeseFactory2009-0528-PineIsland-downtownPO20092009-0528-PineIsland-downtownPO2009-0528-PineIsland-downtownCH20092009-0528-PineIsland-downtownCHMNMap-doton-Pine Island2005MNMap-doton-Pine Island
On the map

Pine Island Township on the map, 1965 to 1985

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

Pine Island Township on the 1965 USGS mapPine Island Township on the 1985 USGS map1965Oronoco 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 Pine Island Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Pine Island Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Baslington, George, Farmhouse
Baslington, George, Farmhouse
Buildings
All 1 listings
Baslington, George, FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1980

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

People over time

Pine Island Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000188019001920194019601980200020203,769

Grew from 656 people in 1880 to 3,769 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pine Island4 historic placesB−Zumbrota2 historic placesBRoscoe Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMazeppa Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townZumbrota TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMazeppa1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pine Island Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Pine Island Township?

One place: the Baslington, George, Farmhouse (listed 1980).

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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.