The Springvale Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Spring Vale (1870), Bradford (1890) and Walbo (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,560156 years
How historic is Springvale Township?
C
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Springvale Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Springvale Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springvale Township is more historic than 33% 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 Springvale Township’s overall grade.
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 Springvale 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Springvale Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Spring Vale
1870–1937
Bradford
1890–1908
Walbo
1892–1903
Pinebrook
1899–1901
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pine BrookSpringvaleWalbo
Gone or out of use
Bradford Post Officepost officePinebrook Post Officepost officeSpring Vale Post Officepost officeWalbo Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Springvale Township
Springvale Baptist Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Springvale Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Springvale Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Springvale is an unincorporated community in Springvale Township, Isanti County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located at the junction of Isanti County Road 6 and Flamingo Street NW. County Roads 1 and 14 are nearby. Stanchfield Creek flows through the community. Springvale is located northwest of Cambridge.
Its first post office opened in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,447 to 1,560 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Springvale Township, 1870 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Springvale Township.
1961Bradford 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 Springvale Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Springvale Township
Nobody well known was born in Springvale Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Springvale Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Springvale Township rank for history?
Springvale Township is more historic than 33% 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 Springvale Township?
15% of Springvale Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 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.
