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History · Springwater Township

Springwater Township’s post office opened in 1876, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Photo: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Springwater Township began

When was Springwater Township founded?

1876

The Springwater Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Springwater (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 267150 years
Founding year: the first Springwater Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Springwater 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 Springwater Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Springwater Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Springwater 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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The story so far

Springwater Township, in brief

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

Springwater Township is a township in Rock County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 266 at the 2000 census. Springwater Township was organized in 1874, and probably named after Springwater, New York, the former home of an early settler.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 252 to 267 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Springwater Township, 1876 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Springwater post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Springwater post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1955On 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

Springwater Township on the map, 1955 to 1985

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

Springwater Township on the 1955 USGS mapSpringwater Township on the 1985 USGS map1955Sioux Falls sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Springwater Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Springwater Township

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

See all →
Shantel VanSantenAmerican actress and model · b. 1985
Dennis DaugaardAmerican politician · b. 1953
James Russell WigginsAmerican newspaper editor and diplomat · b. 1903
J
Jim BrandenburgAmerican photographer · b. 1945
J
Jimmy ManionAmerican football guard · b. 1904
J
Joe SchomackerAmerican politician · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Springwater, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Springwater Township
Springwater

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mound Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRose Dell Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeaver Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Springwater Township’s history

What year was Springwater Township founded?

The Springwater Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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.