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History · Young America Township

40% of Young America Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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What stands out about Young America 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 Young America Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Young America Township’s homes were built before 1963.
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Start Young America Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Young America 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

How Young America Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Young America Township.

Read it all →

Young America was platted in 1856 and incorporated on March 4, 1876. Originally named Farmington, this was quickly changed to Florence, and then finally Young America in 1863. The town was named for "the vigor and progressiveness of the young people of the United States". Norwood was platted in 1872 and incorporated in 1881. The origins of the town's name are unclear, supposedly it is "named by Mr. Slocum, an early banker there, for an eastern relative or friend of his wife."

Norwood Young America was formed on January 1, 1997 when Norwood and Young America merged. The city has been called by the abbreviation NYA, but is often simply called either Norwood or Young America.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Young America Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Highway 212 at Reform Street2014Highway 212 at Reform StreetHighway 212 at Reform Street - panoramio (1)2014Highway 212 at Reform Street - panoramio (1)2012-0814-Schimmelpfennig20122012-0814-Schimmelpfennig2009-0713-YoungAmericaCH20092009-0713-YoungAmericaCH2009-0713-NYA-CH20092009-0713-NYA-CH
On the map

Young America Township on the map, 1957 to 1981

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

Young America Township on the 1957 USGS mapYoung America Township on the 1981 USGS map1957Waconia 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 Young America Township.

People over time

Young America Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00020002020Peak: 3,863

Between 3,108 and 3,863 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Young America Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Young America Township
Emanuel Lutheran ChurchFergusonReformed ChurchSaint Paul's Evangelical Reformed Church

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.

Camden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenton Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHelen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Young America Township’s history

Memory lane

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

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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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.