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History · Minnesota Township

59% of Minnesota Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1880 on.

0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Minnesota Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Minnesota 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 writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Minnesota Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Minnesota Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Minnesota Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Minnesota Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNew Ulm, Minn., Valley of the Minnesota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Minnesota Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Minnesota 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 120 to 96 (-20%).

Places that used to be

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

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

Cadwell
1896–1907
Hammer
1915–1973
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hammer
Gone or out of use
Cadwelllocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Minnesota Township
FerkingstadNidarosSaint BonifaceSaint Paul'sZion Lutheran Church

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

Timeline

Minnesota Township, 1880 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archiveNew Ulm, Minn., Valley of the Minnesota
  3. 1896Post officeThe Cadwell post office opens
  4. 1898In the archiveMinnesota River view reflections, New Ulm, Minn
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Post officeThe Cadwell post office closes
  7. 1908In the archiveMinnesota River
  8. 1915Post officeThe Hammer post office opens
  9. 1973Post officeThe Hammer post office closes
By decade

Minnesota Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s3 items
New Ulm, Minn., Valley of the Minnesota1880New Ulm, Minn., Valley of the MinnesotaMinnesota River view reflections, New Ulm, Minn1898Minnesota River view reflections, New Ulm, MinnMinnesota River1908Minnesota River
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

New Ulm, Minn., Valley of the Minnesota
Retake this viewNew Ulm, Minn., Valley of the Minnesota, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Minnesota Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lien Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClaire CityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEnterprise TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Minnesota Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Library of Congress (3), 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.