The story
Read it all →How Watopa Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Watopa Township.
Watopa Township was organized in 1858, and named for the Dakota-language word meaning "paddle a canoe".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Watopa Township
Watopa Township’s post office opened in 1867, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1972 on and old-book passages.
1867first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Watopa Township began
When was Watopa Township founded?
1867
The Watopa Township post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Watopa (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 246159 years
Founding year: the first Watopa Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Watopa Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Watopa Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Watopa Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Watopa Township in 1920
Passages that mention Watopa Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wabasha County, Minnesota1920 · page 650Read the page →
Read the text
ber of years. In 1859 he came to Wabasha County, Minn., taking a land claim in Watopa Township which he proved up in 1862. He was mustered into the Federal army September 1, 1864, as a member of Company A, Third Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, and was honorably discharged July 28, 1865. He then re¬ turned to his claim of 160 acres in section 20, Watopa Township, built a house and outbuildings and entered upon an agricultural career. In 1874 he traded that farm for one of 200 acres in section 2, Watopa, on which he also erected buildings and made improvements, and was there engaged in farming until his
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wabasha County, Minnesota1920 · page 607Read the page →
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Nels, Andrew, Lena, Christina and Kate are now deceased. Jonas Johnson was reared in Watopa Township and educated in the school of his district. He then worked for his father until 1882, and then until 1894 rented and operated the home farm. After that he lived at Oak Ridge for seven years, but in 1910 again rented the home farm of 213 acres in section 28, Watopa, on which he is still residing, engaged profitably in general farming and stock raising. He belongs to the Swedish Lutheran church and to the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Watopa Township, 1867 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1867Post officeThe Watopa post office opens
- 1871Post officeThe Watopa post office closes
- 20th century
- 1972
On 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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Watopa Township on the map in 1972
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Watopa Township.
1972Weaver sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Watopa Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Watopa Township
Nobody well known was born in Watopa Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Another post office, Watopa, opened and closed inside today’s town.
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.
Questions about Watopa Township’s history
What year was Watopa Township founded?
The Watopa Township post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.