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–Not graded
History · Villard Township

Half of Villard Township’s homes were built after 1994

Most of Villard Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Villard 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 Villard Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Villard Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Villard Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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.

Riverside
1889–1890
Philbrook
1890–1956
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Philbrook
Gone or out of use
Philbrook Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Villard Township
Motley

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

The story so far

Villard Township, in brief

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

Villard Township is a township in Todd County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 592 at the 2000 census and was 667 at the time of the 2020 census. Villard Township was organized in 1882, and named for Henry Villard, a railroad official.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 656 in 2010, 667 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Villard Township, 1889 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Riverside post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Riverside post office closes
  4. 1890Post officeThe Philbrook post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1956Post officeThe Philbrook post office closes
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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Famous people

Famous people close to Villard Township

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

See all →
Lesley J. McNairRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1883
David JoergerAmerican basketball coach · b. 1974
E
Elizabeth ColsonUS social anthropologist · b. 1917
Jack D. ShanstromUnited States Senior District Judge · b. 1932
L
Loren BainAmerican baseball player · b. 1922
G
Gil SkeatePlayer of American football · b. 1901
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Becker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStaples TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFawn Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMotley1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStaples2 historic placesA−Motley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoran TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Villard 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 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.