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History · Volga Township

Volga Township dates to 1879

Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.

1879founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Volga Township began

When was Volga Township founded?

1879

Volga Township dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 287 in 18802020 census: 363147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Volga 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 Volga Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Volga Township’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Volga Township.

Read it all →

Volga was founded by the Western Town Lot Company on December 27, 1879, by Col. Arthur Jacoby, who had platted the area in September of that year. It was originally named "Bandy Town" after the Bandy family, early settlers there. In December 1879, the railroad assigned it the name "Volga", either after the Volga River in Russia, or the town (and river) of Volga, Iowa. From November 1879 to May 1880, Volga was at the end of the railroad, which stimulated the settlement's growth. By 1881, there were around 400 inhabitants. By the next year, Volga had five general stores and two hardware stores, as well as two hotels and three lumber yards. By sometime in the early 1880s, there were four hotels, chief of which was the Farrington. The lumber yard owned by the Laird, Norton Company was closed in 1884.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Volga Township, decade by decade

Today16 recent
JohnLHallHouse2011JohnLHallHouseHenryMartinsonHouse2011HenryMartinsonHouseVolga Tribune2007Volga TribuneVolga Skyline 022007Volga Skyline 02Volga Skyline 012007Volga Skyline 01Volga Public Housing 032007Volga Public Housing 03Volga Public Housing 022007Volga Public Housing 02Volga Public Housing 012007Volga Public Housing 01Volga Christian School2007Volga Christian SchoolSchade Winery2007Schade WineryKasan St Volga 032007Kasan St Volga 03Kasan St Volga 022007Kasan St Volga 02Kasan St Volga 012007Kasan St Volga 01Inside Schade Winery2007Inside Schade WineryDutch Reformed Church2007Dutch Reformed ChurchSDMap-doton-Volga2004SDMap-doton-Volga
On the map

Volga Township on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Volga Township on the 1968 USGS mapVolga Township on the 1985 USGS map1968Volga 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 Volga Township.

People over time

Volga Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020202,113

Grew from 287 people in 1880 to 2,113 in 2020, 7 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Volga Township
First LutheranHillsideKirbyTrinity

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.

Brookings Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOakwood Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBangor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOslo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Volga Township’s history

What year was Volga Township founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 287 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (16), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.