Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Waterville Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Waterville Township

15% of Waterville Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waterville Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Waterville 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterville Township’s collection

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

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

How Waterville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterville Township.

Read it all →

Waterville was platted in 1856 by nine New England natives. The name "Waterville" comes from, Waterville, Maine, E.I. Wright's, a member of the group, hometown. It is also mixed with the fact that it is positioned between Lake Tetonka and Lake Sakatah. A post office has been in operation at Waterville since 1856. Waterville was incorporated as a city in 1898.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Waterville Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Adolf Dehn House1915Adolf Dehn House
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Storm and Tornado Damage - RV in Waterville, Minnesota2018Storm and Tornado Damage - RV in Waterville, MinnesotaElectrical Line Down and Power Outage - Waterville, Minnesota Storm and Tornado Damage2018Electrical Line Down and Power Outage - Waterville, M…2009-0805-WatervilleUnionHotel20092009-0805-WatervilleUnionHotelWaterville, Minnesota2006Waterville, MinnesotaMNMap-doton-Waterville2005MNMap-doton-Waterville
On the map

Waterville Township on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Waterville Township on the 1966 USGS mapWaterville Township on the 1985 USGS map1966Kilkenny 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 Waterville 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.

Adolf Dehn House
Retake this viewAdolf Dehn House, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Waterville Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,868

Between 498 and 1,868 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
GishvilleRogers
Gone or out of use
Gishville SchoolschoolUnited Brethren Churchchurch
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waterville Township
CalvaryCounty LineGishGregor FarmHorseshoe LakeOkamanSakatahVan Blaracom

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.

Kilkenny Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElysian Township1 historic placeBIosco TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorristown Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waterville Township’s history

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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.