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History · Spring Valley Township

26% of Spring Valley Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1965 on, and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Spring Valley Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Spring Valley 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spring Valley Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric Bluff Country Scenic Byway - S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Spring Valley Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Spring Valley Township.

Read it all →

Spring Valley was laid out in 1855, and named for a spring near the town site. A post office has been in operation at Spring Valley since 1855. Spring Valley was incorporated in 1872.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Spring Valley Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Spring Valley Tourist Information Center1995Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Spring Valley T…
Today4 recent
310NorthBroadwaySpringValleyMN2009310NorthBroadwaySpringValleyMN2009-0528-MN-SpringValley-downtown20092009-0528-MN-SpringValley-downtown2009-0528-MN-SpringValley-cityhall20092009-0528-MN-SpringValley-cityhallHistoric Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Parson's Block and Hall2006Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway - Parson's Block …
On the map

Spring Valley Township on the map, 1965 to 1985

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

Spring Valley Township on the 1965 USGS mapSpring Valley Township on the 1985 USGS map1965Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley Township.

People over time

Spring Valley Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,628

Between 1,256 and 2,628 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Spring Valley Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Spring Valley8 historic placesA−Fillmore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSumner Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrankford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBloomfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Spring Valley 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.