Wilkinson Township is a township in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 270 as of the 2000 census.
Wilkinson Township is named after Major Melville Wilkinson of the 3rd Regiment United States Infantry, who was killed during the Battle of Sugar Point.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 36.0 square miles (93.3 km), of which 30.7 square miles (79.5 km) is land and 5.3 square miles (13.8 km) (14.76%) is water.
Much of the township is forested. Portions of the township are within the boundaries of the Chippewa National Forest, Bowstring State Forest, and Welsh Lake State Forest.
Unincorporated communities
- Raboin
- Steamboat Landing
- Wilkinson
Major highway
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 371
Lakes
- Crooked Lake (vast majority)
- Faherty Lake
- Hessie Lake
- Little Moss Lake
- Little Twin Lake
- Lake Thirteen
- Moss Lake
- Portage Lake
- Steamboat Bay Lake
- Steamboat Lake
- Twin Lake
- Welsh Lake
Adjacent townships
- Pike Bay Township (north)
- Otter Tail Peninsula Township (east)
- Leech Lake Township (south)
- Lakeport Township, Hubbard County (southwest)
- Hart Lake Township, Hubbard County (west)
History
A branch line of the Great Northern Railway was built through the township in 1898; the railroad was abandoned in 1972 and converted to the Heartland State Trail. The Great Northern swing bridge crossing the Steamboat River, built in 1915, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A post office named Marcus was established in 1904 in section 32; the name was changed to Wilkinson in 1910 and closed in 1954. A second post office named Raboin in section 17 served the northern portion of the township between 1911 and 1936.
Demographics
As of the census