How Pokegama Township began, and where its name came from
When was Pokegama Township founded?
1912
The Pokegama Township post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pokegama (1912), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,825114 years
How did Pokegama Township get its name?
Pokegama Township’s name in Ojibwe is Bakegamaang, meaning "at the side-lake", referring to Pokegama Lake's position to the Snake River.
How historic is Pokegama Township?
C−
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pokegama Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #226 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pokegama Township’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pokegama Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Pokegama Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally an Ojibwa village, Pokegama housed a Presbyterian Mission ran by Frederick Ayer, claiming to print the first Christian Bible in the Ojibwe language in Minnesota.
The Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 destroyed the small community of Pokegama materially and killed 28 of its people.
The Pokegama Sanatorium for tuberculosis operated on the south side of Pokegama Lake from 1905 to 1944.
The 'city' of Brook Park, 7 miles to the north, is the historical successor of the old town of Pokegama.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pokegama Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Brook Park sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pokegama Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Pokegama Township
Nobody well known was born in Pokegama Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Pokegama Township post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pokegama Township rank for history?
Pokegama Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #226 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Pokegama Township?
12% of Pokegama Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1979.
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).
From Wikipedia, 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.
