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History · Spring Valley Township

Spring Valley Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 75% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Spring Valley Township Bridge No. E-31 and the Salem Township Bridge Number E-1. Below: maps from 1898 on.

1874first post office
2on the National Register
75%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Spring Valley Township began

When was Spring Valley Township founded?

1874

The Spring Valley Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Spring Valley (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 238152 years
Founding year: the first Spring Valley Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Spring Valley Township change.Old housesHalf of Spring Valley Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spring Valley Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spring Valley 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
On the map

Spring Valley Township on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Spring Valley Township on the 1898 USGS mapSpring Valley Township on the 1970 USGS mapSpring Valley Township on the 1985 USGS map1898Parker 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 Spring Valley Township.

The story so far

Spring Valley Township, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 193 to 238 (+23%).

Timeline

Spring Valley Township, 1874 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Spring Valley post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Spring Valley post office closes
  6. 1940BuiltSalem Township Bridge Number E-1 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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

2 historic places in Spring Valley Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Spring Valley Township Bridge No. E-31
Spring Valley Township Bridge No. E-31Salem Township Bridge Number E-1, built 1940
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Stone arch1
Stone Arch1
All 2 listings
Spring Valley Township Bridge No. E-31Structure · listed 1999Salem Township Bridge Number E-1Structure · listed 2000

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cameron ColonySpring Valley
Gone or out of use
Spring ValleylocaleSpring Valley Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Spring Valley Township
Spring Valley BaptistSpring Valley 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.

Norway Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSwan Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalem Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTurkey Valley Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Spring Valley Township’s history

What year was Spring Valley Township founded?

The Spring Valley Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Spring Valley Township?

Two places: the Spring Valley Township Bridge No. E-31 (listed 1999) and the Salem Township Bridge Number E-1 (2000).

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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.