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History · Wadena Township

Wadena Township dates to 1881, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1880.

1881founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wadena Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wadena Township began

When was Wadena Township founded?

1881

Wadena Township dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 307 in 18802020 census: 907145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wadena 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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wadena Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUntitled photo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wadena Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wadena Township.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement at Wadena was made in 1871. The city is named after Chief Wadena, an Ojibwe Indian chief of the late 19th century in northwestern Minnesota. A post office has been in operation at Wadena since 1873. Wadena was incorporated in 1881. Four properties in Wadena are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Commercial Hotel built circa 1885, the Wadena Fire and City Hall built in 1912, the Northern Pacific Passenger Depot built in 1915, and the Peterson-Biddick Seed and Feed Company built 1916–1936.

Chapters2010 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wadena Township, 1881 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingWadena Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923In the archiveUntitled photo
  5. 1939In the archiveHighway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota
  6. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wadena Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s4 items
Untitled photo1923Untitled photoHighway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, MinnesotaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No.…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No.…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Immanuel Lutheran2024Immanuel LutheranBryant Avenue at Jefferson Street2024Bryant Avenue at Jefferson StreetWadena County Historical Society Museum2016Wadena County Historical Society MuseumWadena MN Downtown US71 US10 intersection2013Wadena MN Downtown US71 US10 intersectionWadena Depot2013Wadena DepotPeterson-Biddick Seed & Feed Company2013Peterson-Biddick Seed & Feed CompanyCommercial Hotel2013Commercial HotelNEXRAD Wadena MN EF42010NEXRAD Wadena MN EF4FEMA - 44750 - Damaged community pool in Minnesota2010FEMA - 44750 - Damaged community pool in MinnesotaCommercial Hotel2006Commercial HotelMNMap-doton-Wadena2005MNMap-doton-Wadena
On the map

Wadena Township on the map, 1969 to 1986

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

Wadena Township on the 1969 USGS mapWadena Township on the 1986 USGS map1969Verndale 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 Wadena Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Untitled photo
Retake this viewUntitled photo, 1923

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wadena Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wadena Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,699

Between 307 and 4,699 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wadena3 historic placesB+Leaf River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAldrich TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStowe Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCompton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wadena Township’s history

What year was Wadena Township founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 307 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (12), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.