Most of Ravenna Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ravenna Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ravenna 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 Ravenna 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Ravenna Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ravenna Township’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Ravenna Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ravenna Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ravenna Township is a township in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,354 at the 2020 census. Ravenna Township was organized in 1860, and named after Ravenna, Ohio.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,336 in 2010, 2,354 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ravenna Township, 1871 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ravenna Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Hastings 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 Ravenna Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Ravenna Township
Nobody well known was born in Ravenna Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Ravenna Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. 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 Ravenna Township?
3% of Ravenna Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
