Sylvan Township’s post office opened in 1895, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #180 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Sylvan Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Crow Wing State Park. Below: maps from 1916 on.
The Sylvan Township post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Gull River (1880) and Sylvan (1895), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,889131 years
How historic is Sylvan Township?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sylvan Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Sylvan Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylvan Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #180 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sylvan 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 Sylvan Township’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Sylvan 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gull River
1880–1895
Sylvan
1895–1929
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sylvan
Gone or out of use
Sylvan Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sylvan Township
Gull RiverPillagerSylvanWildwood
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sylvan Township on the map, 1916 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sylvan Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1916Pillager sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sylvan Township.
The story so far
Sylvan Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sylvan Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sylvan is an unincorporated community in Sylvan Township, Cass County, Minnesota, United States. It is located between Pillager and Baxter along State Highway 210 (MN 210), near 24th Avenue SW.
Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,702 to 2,889 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Sylvan Township, 1880 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Sylvan Township post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sylvan Township rank for history?
Sylvan Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #180 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.
What is on the National Register in Sylvan Township?
One place: the Crow Wing State Park (listed 1970).
How old are the homes in Sylvan Township?
2% of Sylvan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
