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History · Sanford Township

Sanford Township’s post office opened in 1883, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1911 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sanford Township began

When was Sanford Township founded?

1883

The Sanford Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Sanford (1883) and Thorsborg (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 141143 years
Founding year: the first Sanford Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Sanford 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 Sanford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sanford Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Sanford Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sanford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sanford 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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Sanford
1883–1883
Thorsborg
1888–1900
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Thorsborg
Gone or out of use
School Number 38schoolSchool Number 48schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 60school
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sanford Township
BethlehemUnion

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

The story so far

Sanford Township, in brief

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

Sanford Township is a township in Grant County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 169 at the 2000 census. Sanford Township was organized in 1882, and named for Henry F. Sanford, a pioneer settler.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 153 to 141 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Sanford Township, 1883 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Sanford post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Sanford post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Thorsborg post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Thorsborg post office closes
  7. 1911On 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.
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On the map

Sanford Township on the map, 1911 to 1973

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

Sanford Township on the 1911 USGS mapSanford Township on the 1973 USGS map1911Barrett 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 Sanford Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Sanford Township

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

See all →
M
Mabel SeeleyAmerican writer · b. 1903
S
Stu StarnerAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1943
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lien TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townErdahl TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElbow Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPomme de Terre TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sanford Township’s history

What year was Sanford Township founded?

The Sanford Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.