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History · Godfrey

Godfrey’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Godfrey. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Godfrey Township is a township in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Grand Forks-ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 327 at the 2000 census. Godfrey Township was organized in 1881, and named for Warren N. Godfrey, a pioneer settler.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 313 to 294 (-6%). Half of its homes were built before 1970.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Godfrey yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Godfrey’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from GodfreyWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Godfrey.Meet them →
By decade

Godfrey, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Godfrey is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Godfrey has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Church of St. Peter-Catholic in Gentilly, 13.9 miles away.

Godfrey and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Godfrey. Tap a dot.
Church of St. Peter-CatholicRed Lake County CourthouseCrookston Commercial Historic DistrictCrookston Carnegie Public LibraryCathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionE. C. Davis House

Closest to Godfrey

Church of St. Peter-CatholicGentilly · Building13.9miRed Lake County CourthouseRed Lake Falls · Building17.4miCrookston Commercial Historic DistrictCrookston · District18.5miCrookston Carnegie Public LibraryCrookston · Built 190818.5miCathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionCrookston · Built 199018.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Church of St. Peter-Catholic’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Godfrey?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Godfrey’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Onstad📜 Garfield📜 Woodside📜 Grove Park-Tilden
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Godfrey, MNPolk CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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