Township History

Ross Lake Township began in 1885 with a small group of settlers. By 1900, the population had grown to 40 people, and two years later, the township became a part of the Rogers Lake Precinct. On May 4, 1904, the Crow Wing County commissioners granted the petition to incorporate the township. Mr. Frank Day was elected treasurer and Mr. George Conrad was elected clerk.

 

If you look to the east as you drive north on County Rd 106, you can still see the grove of plum trees where Mud Brook School, the first school in the township, was built in 1903 near the banks of Mud Brook.  Two additional schools, Waggoner and Ross Lake, were built in 1905 and 1908. By 1923, however, there was only one active school district in the township. Over the years, the township's population continued to grow, and in 1939, a new Ross Lake School was built, with the basement serving as a community center and town hall. Today, the current town hall is located at 27853 Co Rd 36, Aitkin, MN 56431.

 

Ross Lake Township is primarily rural, and it is home to several larger lakes including Rogers Lake, Ross Lake, Stark Lake, Twin Lake, Upper Dean Lake, Snodgrass, Island Lake, and Mud Lake, as well as numerous smaller lakes. Mud Brook, Ross Brook, and other smaller brooks and creeks connect many of the lakes in the township.

 

Presently, the population of Ross Lake Township is 228, and it covers an area of 33 square miles.

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Click HERE for the map of Ross Lake Township in the 1913 plat book for Crow Wing County.

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Click HERE for interviews with some original settlers Of Ross Lake Township.

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Click HERE for township demographics.