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History · Selma Township

Selma Township’s post office opened in 1882, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Selma Township began

When was Selma Township founded?

1882

The Selma Township post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Selma (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 170144 years
Founding year: the first Selma Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Selma 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 Selma Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Selma Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Selma Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Selma 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

Selma Township, in brief

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

Selma Township is a township in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 193 at the 2010 census. Selma Township was organized in 1874, and given the name of the first white birth within its borders.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 193 to 170 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Selma Township, 1882 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Selma post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Selma post office closes
  5. 1967On 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

Selma Township on the map, 1967 to 1991

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

Selma Township on the 1967 USGS mapSelma Township on the 1986 USGS mapSelma Township on the 1991 USGS map1967Comfrey sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Selma Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Selma Township

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

See all →
Glen TaylorAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1941
A
Al ArndtAmerican football player · b. 1911
Bernie BiermanAmerican college football player and coach · b. 1894
Gilbert EsauAmerican politician · b. 1919
Kurt DaudtAmerican politician · b. 1973
L
Les RockMajor League Baseball first baseman · b. 1912
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Selma, opened and closed inside today’s town.

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Selma Township
Christian ReformedCongregational

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ComfreyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdrian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMidway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBashaw TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDelton Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Selma Township’s history

What year was Selma Township founded?

The Selma 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.