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History · Silver Lake Township

19% of Silver Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on.

0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Silver Lake 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 Silver Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Silver Lake Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silver Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silver Lake Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

Centre Chain
1882–1893
Center Chain
1893–1905
18801950today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Silver Lake Township
Center ChainHoly Family CatholicOakwood

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

The story so far

Silver Lake Township, in brief

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

Silver Lake Township is a township in Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 494 at the 2000 census. Silver Lake Township was named for its north and south Silver lakes.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 519 to 457 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Silver Lake 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 Centre Chain post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Centre Chain post office closes
  4. 1893Post officeThe Center Chain post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Post officeThe Center Chain post office closes
  7. 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

Silver Lake Township on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Silver Lake Township on the 1967 USGS mapSilver Lake Township on the 1985 USGS map1967Wilmert Lake 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 Silver Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Silver Lake Township

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

See all →
Walter MondaleVice President of the United States from 1977 t… · b. 1928
Jim HagedornU.S. Representative from Minnesota · b. 1962
Arlen ErdahlAmerican politician · b. 1931
Tom HagedornAmerican politician · b. 1943
Buddy WolfeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1941
D
Donald DeskeyAmerican industrial designer · b. 1894
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Chain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairmont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTenhassen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Silver Lake Township’s history

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.