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CHistory
History · Solway Township

Solway Township dates to 1899, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1953 on.

1899founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Solway Township began

When was Solway Township founded?

1899

Solway Township dates its founding to 1899 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1902.

2020 census: 2,016127 years

How historic is Solway Township?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Solway Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Solway Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Solway Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1899, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.7% of homes (±8.4) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Solway Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1899.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Solway 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 Solway Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Solway Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Solway Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Solway 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.

Sundby
1902–1915
Munger
1903–1931
Saginaw
1906–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MungerSimar
Gone or out of use
Munger Post Officepost officeSundby Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Solway Township
Solway

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

The story

How Solway Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Solway Township.

Read it all →

Solway was settled in 1899 during a period of logging and railroad development in northern Minnesota. Its name may refer to the Solway Firth between England and Scotland, although the origin is not certain. The community grew near major timber operations and served as a center for logging camps between Red Lake, Itasca, Bagley, and other sites. At its peak, Solway had a hospital, jail, bank, saloons, hotels, a blacksmith shop, livery stable, mercantile store, newspaper, train depot, fire department, and post office. A post office called Solway has been in operation since 1898. Buildings connected to this period include the former Solway Mercantile Store, built about 1899 and later occupied by JD's Outpost; Solway Lutheran Church, built in 1921; the Old Solway School, built in 1937 after two earlier school buildings burned; and the Solway Town Hall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Solway Township, 1899 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899
    FoundingSolway Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Sundby post office opens
  5. 1903Post officeThe Munger post office opens
  6. 1906Post officeThe Saginaw post office opens
  7. 1915Post officeThe Sundby post office closes
  8. 1931Post officeThe Munger post office closes
  9. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Solway Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Solway School building2026Solway School buildingSolway Post Office2026Solway Post OfficeMinnesota Centennial Monument2026Minnesota Centennial MonumentLammers Town Hall2026Lammers Town HallBusinesses on Centerline Road2026Businesses on Centerline Road
On the map

Solway Township on the map, 1953 to 1993

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

Solway Township on the 1953 USGS mapSolway Township on the 1969 USGS mapSolway Township on the 1975 USGS mapSolway Township on the 1993 USGS map1953Adolph 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 Solway Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Solway Township

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

See all →
Bob DylanAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1941
Jessica LangeAmerican actress · b. 1949
Oliver E. WilliamsonAmerican economist · b. 1932
Jeffrey WilliamsAmerican astronaut · b. 1958
Bill BerryAmerican musician; drummer for R.E.M. · b. 1958
D
Don LaFontaineAmerican voice actor · b. 1940
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Grand Lake TownshipIts storyC−Thomson Township4 historic placesBHermantownIts storyDBrevator TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Solway Township’s history

What year was Solway Township founded?

In 1899, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Solway Township’s post office opened in 1902.

How does Solway Township rank for history?

Solway Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Solway Township?

11% of Solway Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1984.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.