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History · West Heron Lake Township

32% of West Heron Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on.

0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about West Heron Lake 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 West Heron Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of West Heron Lake Township’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Heron Lake Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

West Heron Lake Township, in brief

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

West Heron Lake Township is a township in Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 202 at the 2000 census. West Heron Lake Township was organized in 1874, and named for its location west of Heron Lake.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 181 to 130 (-28%).

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

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.
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On the map

West Heron Lake Township on the map, 1960 to 1985

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

West Heron Lake Township on the 1960 USGS mapWest Heron Lake Township on the 1976 USGS mapWest Heron Lake Township on the 1985 USGS map1960Okabena 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 West Heron Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to West Heron Lake Township

Nobody well known was born in West Heron Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
M
Maria SchneiderJazz bandleader and composer · b. 1960
Johnny OlsonAmerican television announcer · b. 1910
E
Elaine HarderAmerican politician · b. 1947
R
Randy WeeksAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 2000
A
Aaron HorkeyGraphic designer
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Heron Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWeimer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRost TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlba TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about West Heron Lake Township’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.