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History · Gardar Township

Gardar Township dates to 1878, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on.

1878founded
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gardar Township began

When was Gardar Township founded?

1878

Gardar Township dates its founding to 1878 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1881.

2020 census: 79148 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gardar 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 Gardar Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gardar Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gardar Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gardar 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Garder
1881–1883
Gardar
1883–1984
Parktown
1883–1887
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Gardar
1cemetery inside Gardar Township
Gardar Pioneer

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Gardar Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gardar Township.

Read it all →

Gardar was founded ca. 1878, and was originally built up chiefly by Icelanders. A post office was established at Gardar in 1881, and remained in operation until 1984. The population was 90 in 1940.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gardar Township, 1878 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingGardar Township is established
  3. 1881Post officeThe Garder post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Garder post office closes
  5. 1883Post officeThe Gardar post office opens
  6. 1883Post officeThe Parktown post office opens
  7. 1887Post officeThe Parktown post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1984Post officeThe Gardar post office closes
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

Gardar Township on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

Gardar Township on the 1963 USGS mapGardar Township on the 1985 USGS map1963Gardar 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 Gardar Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Montrose TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrystal TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLampton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThingvalla TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gardar Township’s history

What year was Gardar Township founded?

In 1878, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gardar Township’s post office opened in 1881.

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 Wikipedia, 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.