Lyle Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Mower County Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin ...

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, United States. The population was 402 at the 2000 census. The largest city contained within the township is Lyle with 566 people. All other areas of the township are unincorporated. The township was named for Robert Lyle, an early

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

from Ohio who later went on to become judge of probate and an elected representative of the region in the

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History

J.D. Woodbury built a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

along the Cedar River in section 33 (about two and a half miles west of the modern-day town of Lyle) in 1853 which he then sold to Benjamin Coe in 1855 before moving to Olmsted County. Section 4 started to be

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

in 1854 by Eben Merry as well as by James Foster and his son, Return. John Tift also came in 1854 and started the small settlement of Troy. The township was officially organized in 1858 and it was later named for Robert Lyle, an early settler from

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. He came to the area in 1856 and went on to become judge of probate and an elected representative of the region in the

. He stayed in the area until 1868 when he moved to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Geography

According to the

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, the township has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 402 people, 146 households, and 113 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 157 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.00%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.25% Asian, and 0.50% from two or more races. There were 146 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 2.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.12. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,667, and the median income for a family was $46,500. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $24,444 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $19,116. About 6.6% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Troy

The old town of Troy was on the Cedar River in sections 4 and 8, about south of

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. It was settled on March 24, 1857, by John Tift and it once had a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

and a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

. It suffered the same fate as Cedar City in the spring of 1858.

Cedar City

John Chandler came to Lyle Township from

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population 132,979) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing m ...

, in 1856 and took up a claim in section 4. He later gave up his rights to his claim in favor of Caleb Stock and John Phelps. These two men, along with T.N. Stone, built a dam of stones and timber and then built a sawmill and

behind it. The rains of the spring of 1858 were unusually heavy and the new dam gave way to the unexpected water levels. The dam and mills were never rebuilt, but some of the old residents of the short-lived settlement lie in rest at nearby Cedar City Cemetery.

Cemetery

*Woodbury Cemetery is located in the far northwest corner of the southwest quadrant of section 33 of the township near the Cedar River. It was established by J.W. Woodbury at some time before 1855 and the south section contains some

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...