The Webster Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hazelwood (1857) and Trondjem (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,777147 years
How historic is Webster Township?
B
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Webster Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Webster Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Webster Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Webster 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 Webster Township’s 5.7 sits near the middle of its state (65% 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). 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 Webster 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 and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hazelwood
1857–1905
Webster
1879–today
Trondjem
1889–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HazelwoodLittle ChicagoTrondjemWebster
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Webster Township
AnnunciationSaint JohnsSolor Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Webster Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Webster Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Webster is an unincorporated community in Webster Township, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located at the junction of Rice County Roads 3 and 5. Porter Creek flows through the community.
Its first post office opened in 1879. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,768 in 2010, 1,777 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Webster Township in 1882
Passages that mention Webster Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Webster Township is the companion town of Wheatland in extending the boundary line of the county northward. It is in the northwestern jiart of Rice county; its contiguous surroundings are the counties of Scott and Dakota on the north and east, with Bridgewater township forming an eastem boundary to section thirty-six; on the south Forest and on the west Wheatland.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rice County, including explorers and pioneers of Minnesota and outline history of the state of Minnesota1882 · page 534Read the page →
Read the text
Webster Township is the companion town of Wheatland in extending the boundary line of the county northward. It is in the northwestern part of Eice county, its contiguous surroundings are the counties of Scott and Dakota on the north and east, with Bridgewater township forming an eastern boundary to section thirty -six; on the south Forest and on the west Wheatland.
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
Webster Township, 1857 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Webster Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Little Chicago 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 Webster Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Webster Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Webster Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Webster Township rank for history?
Webster Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. 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 Webster Township?
One place: the Church of the Annunciation-Catholic (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Webster Township?
19% of Webster Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1981.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
