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History · Brandt Township

Brandt Township dates to 1880

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.

1880founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Brandt Township began

When was Brandt Township founded?

1880

Brandt Township dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 158 in 19102020 census: 129146 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓

What stands out about Brandt 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 Brandt Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 299 in 1920; 114 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Brandt Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brandt Township’s collection

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

Brandt Township, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 299

Peaked at 299 in 1920; 114 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Togstad
1879–1904
Altruria
1895–1907
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Altruria Post Officepost officeAltruria SchoolschoolNorman SchoolschoolNorwegian Lutheran ChurchchurchSunnyside SchoolschoolTogstad Post Officepost officeWillow Row Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brandt Township
HighlandRose Family

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

The story

How Brandt Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brandt Township.

Read it all →

Brandt was laid out in 1884. The town was named for the Rev. P.O. Brandt.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brandt Township, 1879 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Togstad post office opens
  3. 1880
    FoundingBrandt Township is established
  4. 1895Post officeThe Altruria post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904Post officeThe Togstad post office closes
  7. 1907Post officeThe Altruria post office closes
  8. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 299
  9. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brandt Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Brandt2004SDMap-doton-Brandt
On the map

Brandt Township on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Brandt Township on the 1970 USGS mapBrandt Township on the 1985 USGS map1970Clear Lake South 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 Brandt Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Clear Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHidewood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHavana TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlom TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorden Township4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brandt Township’s history

What year was Brandt Township founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. Brandt Township’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1910 counted 158 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 (1), 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.