Story of the Settlement and Growth of Renville County Townships - Location - Boundaries - First Settlers - Early Tax Lists - Thrilling Incidents - Reminiscences - Stories Told by Early Pioneers

Renville county has twenty-seven political townships. They are Wang, Ericson, Crooks, Winfield, Kingman, Osceola, Brookfield, Boon Lake, Hawk Creek, Sacred Heart, Emmet, Troy, Bird Island, Melville, Hector, Preston Lake, Flora, Henryville, Norfolk, Palmyra, Martinsburg, Beaver Falls, Birch Cooley, Bandon, Wellington, Camp and Cairo. Some like Wellington and Emmet take their names from great heroes; some like Ericson, Crooks and Henryville take their name from early settlers or prominent county officials; some like Birch Cooley, Beaver Falls, Hawk Creek, Preston Lake, Boon Lake and Bird Island take their names from geographical features; many like Hector, Wang and Cairo take their names from older localities; one, Flora, takes its name from a horse; some, like Sacred Heart and Camp, take their names from early historical incidents.