HISTORY

POPULATION

LAND MAPS

NAMES

From Trygg Historical Maps, Trygg Land Office, Ely, MN www.trygglandoffice.com/maps.html b=bottom land, m=marsh, p=prairie, s=swamp

Basic Facts: Township 133N, Range 37W Government survey 1860 First Settled 18?? Organized Mar 18, 1878

History

[Copied by Lory Brasel, lbrasel@leagent.net, from the book "History of Otter Tail County" Volume I - 1916 by John W. Mason]

Inman township made its appearance among the townships of Otter Tail county on March 18, 1878. Undoubtedly the proposed railroad from the Northern Pacific which was to run through this congressional township (township 133, range 37) via Fergus Falls to Pelican Rapids was respon-sible for the creation of Inman township at this particular time. The first election was held on April 8, 1878, at the house of Thomas Inman, in whose honor the township was named. It is interesting to note that not all of the citizens of the proposed township wanted it called Inman. William Ogden and others presented a petition on the day that the township was organized asking that it be called Custer, but the followers of Inman either had a greater number of Signers to their petitions, or else more influence, since they induced the commissioners to call it Inman. The names of the petitioners who desired the name Inman were as follow: William Ogden, A. C. Gould, H. Stinson, C. H. Sturns, Charley Treubly, Albert Hough, Will-iam Hough, Charles Tidthey, August Doane, Benjamin Stuart, Thomas Gask, H. T. Gash, Jacob Haish, J. E. Inman,. A. B.. Stewart, Testel H. Huesh and Frank Fellows.
Inman township is now without a lake of any size, although forty years ago there was a lake in the south central part of the township more than two miles long and in many places half a mile wide. Fortunately the topography of the township is such that it has been easy to drain this lake and now it has practically disappeared. There was also formerly a lake in the northwestern part of the township, but it too has nearly disappeared. The northern part of Inman drains into Leaf river on the east and Red river on the west while the old lake bed in the southern part of the township is drained by a stream which eventually finds its way to Leaf lake and thence to Red river.
The first saw-mill in the township was located in the center of section 15 and for many years did a flourishing business. The first postoffice, called Inman, stood in the extreme northeastern corner of section 22. After the branch line of the Northern Pacific was built through the northwestern corner of the township in 1882, a station was established in the western part of section 5 and given the name of Parkton. This has never been platted and is only a flag stop.
The present township officers are as follow: Supervisors, G. W. Moats, Nels O. Buset and Andrew Isakson; clerk, W. J. Henderson; treas-urer, E. Parks; assessor, Nels N. Holt; justices, Henry Dilly and E. E. Inman; constables, Erick Edholm and Leseure Moats.

Population

Population totals in state and federal census summaries.

	Inman
1870
1875
1880	174
1885	215
1890	292
1895	410
1900	564
1905	592
1910	471
1920	544
1930	557
1940	588

Places of birth for Inman Township in the 1905 state census.

Native (USA)	130	22%
Minnesota	322	54%
Foreign	140	24%
Germany	4	3%
Sweden	73	52%
Norway	49	35%
Canada	10	7%
Ireland	0	0%
Denmark	3	2%
England	0	0%
Poland	0	0%
Finland	0	0%
Russia	0	0%
Scotland	0	0%
Other	1	1%

Land Maps

Names

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