The Mississippi River divides the two Township/Range numbering grids that apply to areas East and West of the Mississippi. Furthermore, some townships straddle Township/Range boundaries and thus have more than one Township/Range notation.

From the Crow Wing chapter of the book "Minnesota Place Names A Geographical Encyclopedia" by Warren Upham:

By an act of the legislature, February 18, 1887, which was ratified by the vote of the people of the county at the next general election, the part of Crow Wing County west of the Mississippi River, previously belonging to Cass County, was annexed to this county, somewhat more than doubling its former area.

So the western portion of Crow Wing county (township numbers from T133-138N) was originally part of Cass county until that date. Keep that in mind when looking for township information before 1887.

Name changes, annexations, and other historical notes:

• Allen Township (T138N R27W) was part of Emily Township until 1905. Now it is comprised entirely of the city of Fifty Lakes and the city of Manhattan Beach.
• Baxter Township (T133N R29W, T134N R28-29W) was split into the city of Baxter and Unorganized Territory in 1939.
• Brainerd Township probably originally included T45N R29-31W (present day Nokay Township, Oak Lawn Township, and the sliver by the river) as the delinquent tax list of 1872 shows a S. W. Farnham owning land in T45N R29W (now Nokay Township) and being the only delinquent taxpayer in Brainerd Township. The boundaries of the township were reduced on 1 Aug 1881 to include only R30-31. Before another election could be held for officers, the legislature incorporated Brainerd as a Municipal Corporation to include the west half of section 19 and all of section 30 in T45N R30W and all of fractional T45N R31W. A city charter voted on 6 Dec 1882 ended the township of Brainerd (info compiled by Anna Himrod, 1936).
• Breezy Point Township (T136N R28W) is now entirely the city of Breezy Point.
• Cross Lake Township (T137N R27W) is now entirely the city of Cross Lake.
• Dean Lake Township (T136N R25W) was disorganized, effective March 29, 1994. Now known as "Second Assessment".
• Emily Township (T138N R26W) in its entirety is actually the City of Emily.
• Fairbanks Township (T44N R32W) at the north end of Fort Ripley Township was enumerated with Crow Wing Township up until 1900, by which time it was absorbed into Fort Ripley Township.
• Klondike (Klondyke) was first organized in 1903 from T46-47N R29W and T47N R30W and in 1904 attached T46N R30W from Oak Lawn. In 1912 it was split into Klondike and Wolford. In 1918 Klondike was renamed Irondale to reflect the industry of the township.
• Lake Edwards Township renamed to Lake Edward, effective January 10, 2001.
• Mooersville Township (T43N R28-32W) was organized in 1882 (Link) and was gradually split up into Daggett Brook, St. Mathias, Platte Lake, Roosevelt and Fort Ripley Townships.
  In 1887, Daggett Brook Township split off.
  In 1888, what was to become Platte Lake Township and Roosevelt Township detached from Mooersville and attached to Daggett Brook, since they were separated by it from the western part of Mooersville.
  In 1892, St. Mathias Township organized.
  In 1901, Platte Lake Township organized.
  In 1902, Roosevelt Township organized.
  In 1904, Fort Ripley Township organized, thus ending the Mooersville name.
• Sibley Township (T136N R29W) was annexed to the City of Pequot Lakes in 2002.
• Smiley Township (T135N R29W) was organized in 1900 and was entrely annexed to the city of Nisswa in 1921.
• Watertown Township (T137N R27W) was organized in 1903 and is now entirely annexed to the city of Cross Lake.

MNDOT has 1 inch = 1 mile scale County Maps. The Crow Wing map has a Southern Half and a Northern Half.

The official Crow Wing County county map has Township names, Township/Range numbers, section numbers, and the E911 address grid. It is available from the Crow Wing County Highway Department, 202 Laurel Street, Brainerd, MN, 56401. Phone: 218-824-1110.