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History · Thingvalla Township

Thingvalla Township dates to 1882

Most of Thingvalla Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: maps from 1964 on.

1882founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Thingvalla Township began

When was Thingvalla Township founded?

1882

Thingvalla Township dates its founding to 1882 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1887.

2020 census: 98144 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

What stands out about Thingvalla 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 Thingvalla Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Thingvalla Township’s homes were built before 1959.
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Start Thingvalla Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thingvalla 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 Thingvalla Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Thingvalla Township.

Read it all →

Thingvalla Township was organized in 1882, and, along with Gardar, Beaulieu and Akra Townships, was known as one of the "Icelandic Townships," due to the large population of Icelanders who had settled here. Thingvalla is named after Þingvellir in Iceland, the site of Iceland's first parliament (930–1789), and now home to a historical national park. Thingvalla roughly translates to "parliament meadows."

Thingvalla Township was a "double township," spanning two full survey townships. In 1886, the southern part of the township was organized separately as Gardar Township, named after Gardar Svavarsson, who was reportedly the first Scandinavian to visit Iceland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Thingvalla Township, 1882 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882
    FoundingThingvalla Township is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Eyford post office opens
  4. 1895Post officeThe Eyford post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Thingvalla Township on the map, 1964 to 1985

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

Thingvalla Township on the 1964 USGS mapThingvalla Township on the 1985 USGS map1964Mountain 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 Thingvalla Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Thingvalla Township
MountainThingvalla Lutheran

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.

Beaulieu TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPark TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Alma TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGardar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Thingvalla Township’s history

What year was Thingvalla Township founded?

In 1882, according to Wikidata. Thingvalla Township’s post office opened in 1887.

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 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.