On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodland Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodland 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 Woodland Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Woodland 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, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Castle
1885–1887
North Saint Paul
1887–1936
Oster
1900–1907
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Oster
Gone or out of use
North Saint Paul Post Officepost officeOster Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woodland Township
SwedishWoodland
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Woodland Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Woodland Township is a township in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,137 at the 2000 census. Woodland Township was organized in 1858, and named for the original tracts of woodlands within its borders.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,082 to 1,154 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Woodland Township, 1885 to 1958
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 Woodland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Buffalo 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 Woodland Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Woodland Township
Nobody well known was born in Woodland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Woodland Township is more historic than 51% 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.
How old are the homes in Woodland Township?
24% of Woodland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.6 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 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.
