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History · Seely Township

Seely Township’s post office opened in 1882, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Seely Township began

When was Seely Township founded?

1882

The Seely Township post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Clayton (1860) and Seely (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 164144 years
Founding year: the first Seely Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Seely 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 Seely Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Seely Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Seely Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Seely Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Seely 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
The story so far

Seely Township, in brief

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

Seely Township is a township in Faribault County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 210 at the 2000 census. Seely Township was organized in 1858, and named for Philander C. Seely, a pioneer settler.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 193 to 164 (-15%).

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Clayton
1860–1899
Seely
1882–1900
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Wertjes Landing Stripairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Seely Township
BricelynClaytonSouth Blue Earth Lutheran

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

Timeline

Seely Township, 1860 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Clayton post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Seely post office opens
  4. 1899Post officeThe Clayton post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Seely post office closes
  7. 1955On 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 album
On the map

Seely Township on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Seely Township on the 1955 USGS mapSeely Township on the 1982 USGS map1955Bricelyn 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 Seely Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brush Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKiester TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRome TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Seely Township’s history

What year was Seely Township founded?

The Seely Township post office opened in 1882, 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 →
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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.