For a number of years after Douglas County was created by the Legislature it was attached to Stearns County for civil and judicial purposes. In 1859 a move was started to organize Douglas for certain purposes. P.L Gregory was the prime mover, and an elections was held – the first in the county – at Gregory’s Hotel. Some of the settlers were opposed to the project and only a few voted. It was, therefore given up as the elections was held without authority and illegal. All attempts to organize were abandoned during the Dakota Uprising in 1862 and all records were lost at that time. Nothing further was done with official matters until 1866, when the county was permanently organized.
Douglas County, Minnesota is rectangular in shape and divided into 20 townships, each with its own township board as the local governing body. There are five townships across from west to east, and four down, north to south. Each townships is approximately six miles square, each totaling an area of 36 square miles. Each township is divided into 36 sections with each section being one mile square and containing 640 acres of land.
In a condensed explanation of township history, it is important to note that at the beginning of 1866 there were only two townships in Douglas County. Osakis Township was referred to as Township #1 and everything else was a part of Alexandria Township #2.