The story
Read it all →How Spring Lake Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Spring Lake Township.
Spring Lake Township was organized in 1858, and named after Spring Lake.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Spring Lake Township
Half of Spring Lake Township’s homes were built after 1990
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #245 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Spring Lake Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1957 on.
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
About Spring Lake Township’s history
How historic is Spring Lake Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Spring Lake Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spring Lake Township is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #245 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spring Lake Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19404.2% of homes (±3.5) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 16%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 10%
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 Spring Lake 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.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Spring Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Spring Lake Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spring 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.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.
Lydia
Liberty
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lydia
Gone or out of use
Liberty Post Officepost officeLydia Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Spring Lake Township
ConcordFish LakeSaint Catherine's
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Spring Lake Township, 1861 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 albumOn the map
Spring Lake Township on the map, 1957 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spring Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Prior Lake sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Spring Lake Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Spring Lake Township’s history
How does Spring Lake Township rank for history?
Spring Lake Township is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #245 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Spring Lake Township?
4% of Spring Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1990.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.