The story
Read it all →How Riceland Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Riceland Township.
Riceland Township was organized in 1858, and named for a former lake noted for its wild rice.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Riceland Township
Riceland Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1954 on.
1858first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Riceland Township began
When was Riceland Township founded?
1858
The Riceland Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Riceland (1858), Lerdal (1892) and Sigabee (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 428168 years
Founding year: the first Riceland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Riceland 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 Riceland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Riceland Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Riceland Township’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Riceland Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Riceland Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Riceland
Lerdal
Sigabee
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LerdalMucklandSigsbeeSouth HollandaleTwin Grove
Gone or out of use
Lerdal Post Officepost officeSigsbee Post Officepost officeWard Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Riceland Township
Saint PaulsSeventh-day Adventist
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Riceland Township, 1858 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1858Post officeThe Riceland post office opens
- 1860Post officeThe Riceland post office closes
- 1892Post officeThe Lerdal post office opens
- 1899Post officeThe Sigabee post office opens
- 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Sigabee post office closes
- 1908Post officeThe Lerdal post office closes
- 1954
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 albumOn the map
Riceland Township on the map, 1954 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Riceland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Hayward sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Riceland Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Riceland Township
Nobody well known was born in Riceland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
HollandaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHayward Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoscow TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGeneva TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBancroft TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Riceland Township’s history
What year was Riceland Township founded?
The Riceland Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.