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History · Garfield Township

60% of Garfield Township’s homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 13 buildings. Below: maps from 1898 on.

3on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Garfield 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 Garfield Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Garfield Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1986. Watch Garfield Township change.Old housesHalf of Garfield Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Garfield Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garfield 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, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Alsen
1874–1906
Dalesberg
1879–1906
Marshalltown
1879–1895
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlsenDalesburgHub CityMarshalltown
Gone or out of use
Marshalltown SchoolschoolSaint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Garfield Township
Dalesburg BaptistRockfield

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

On the map

Garfield Township on the map, 1898 to 1986

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

Garfield Township on the 1898 USGS mapGarfield Township on the 1901 USGS mapGarfield Township on the 1969 USGS mapGarfield Township on the 1986 USGS map1898Elk Point sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Garfield Township.

The story so far

Garfield Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Garfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 208 to 186 (-11%).

Timeline

Garfield Township, 1874 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Alsen post office opens
  3. 1876BuiltAnderson Homestead is built
  4. 1879Post officeThe Dalesberg post office opens
  5. 1879Post officeThe Marshalltown post office opens
  6. 1895Post officeThe Marshalltown post office closes
  7. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1906Post officeThe Alsen post office closes
  10. 1906Post officeThe Dalesberg post office closes
  11. 1908BuiltGarfield Township Hall is built
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 National Register

3 listings protect 21 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
21
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Anderson Homestead
Garfield Township Hall, built 1908Anderson Homestead, built 1876Daniel A. Messler Homestead
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1
Georgian1
Queen Anne1
Swedish Barn1
Garfield Township HallBuilt 1908
All 3 listings
Anderson HomesteadDistrict · listed 1978Daniel A. Messler HomesteadBuilding · listed 2002

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pleasant Valley Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie Center Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEmmet Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlenwood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Garfield Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Garfield Township?

Three places: the Garfield Township Hall (listed 2004), the Anderson Homestead (1978) and the Daniel A. Messler Homestead (2002).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.