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History · Welch Township

Welch Township’s post office opened in 1886, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church. Below: maps from 1944 on.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Welch Township began

When was Welch Township founded?

1886

The Welch Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Eggleston (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 854140 years
Founding year: the first Welch Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Welch 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 Welch Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Welch Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Welch 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
The story so far

Welch Township, in brief

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

Welch is an unincorporated community in Welch Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. Welch is along County 7 Boulevard near Highway 61, 36 miles southeast of St. Paul. The Cannon River flows through the community. The Canyon Valley Trail (CVT), which runs from Cannon Falls to Red Wing, goes through the village. Welch is within ZIP code 55089. Welch Village ski area is nearby.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 754 to 854 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Welch Township, 1875 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Eggleston post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Welch post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1934Post officeThe Eggleston post office closes
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1964Born hereTim Kelly is born here
By decade

Welch Township, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Churchyard cemetery of the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church2019Churchyard cemetery of the Cross of Christ Lutheran C…Churchyard cemetery of the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church2019Churchyard cemetery of the Cross of Christ Lutheran C…The Cross of Christ Lutheran Church2019The Cross of Christ Lutheran ChurchThe Bleu Dog Cafe in an old bank building2019The Bleu Dog Cafe in an old bank buildingA tubing and canoeing shop in an old mill, which outfits those who enjoy floating on the nearby Cannon River2019A tubing and canoeing shop in an old mill, which outf…A tubing and canoeing shop in an old mill, which outfits those who enjoy floating on the nearby Cannon River2019A tubing and canoeing shop in an old mill, which outf…The U.S. post office2019The U.S. post officeAbandoned red barn near Welch, Minnesota2019Abandoned red barn near Welch, Minnesota
On the map

Welch Township on the map, 1944 to 1991

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

Welch Township on the 1944 USGS mapWelch Township on the 1952 USGS mapWelch Township on the 1974 USGS mapWelch Township on the 1991 USGS map1944Red Wing sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Welch Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Welch Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Cross of Christ Lutheran Church
Cross of Christ Lutheran Church
Buildings
Cross of Christ Lutheran ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Eggleston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eggleston
1875–1934
Welch
1886–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EgglestonWelch
Gone or out of use
Eggleston Post Officepost officePrairie Island-Schaller Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Welch Township
Prairie IslandWelch

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.

Vasa Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRavenna TownshipIts storyDRed Wing24 historic placesA−Douglas TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Welch Township’s history

What year was Welch Township founded?

The Welch Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Welch Township?

One place: the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church (listed 1980).

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 the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.