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History · Drayton Township

Drayton Township dates to 1878

Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1880.

1878founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Drayton Township began

When was Drayton Township founded?

1878

Drayton Township dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 62 in 18802020 census: 27148 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓

What stands out about Drayton 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 Drayton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,095 in 1970; 757 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Drayton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Drayton 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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People over time

Drayton Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,095

Peaked at 1,095 in 1970; 757 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Drayton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Drayton Township.

Read it all →

Drayton was originally called Hastings Landing. It was given its present name by Canadian settlers from Drayton, Ontario. A drawbridge, built in anticipation of riverboat traffic returning to the upper Red River, was built in 1911 to connect Drayton to Minnesota. Because of low river levels the riverboats never materialized, with the result that the drawbridge never needed to be raised.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Drayton Township, 1878 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingDrayton Township is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Pittsburg post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910Post officeThe Pittsburg post office closes
  6. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,095
By decade

Drayton Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Drayton Drug2005Drayton DrugNDMap-doton-Drayton2004NDMap-doton-Drayton
On the map

Drayton Township on the map, 1939 to 1971

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

Drayton Township on the 1939 USGS mapDrayton Township on the 1941 USGS mapDrayton Township on the 1971 USGS map1939Drayton 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 Drayton Township.

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pittsburgh
Gone or out of use
Pittsburghlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Drayton Township
DraytonSaint Edward

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.

St. Andrews TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLincoln TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMidland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Drayton Township’s history

What year was Drayton Township founded?

In 1878, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Drayton Township’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1880 counted 62 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.