[3] In 1855 John L. Johnson came to the township from Wisconsin and built a sod shanty in a grove of trees in section 4 that had a large, red rock in it.

The rock can still be seen in section 5 (about 1.5 miles northwest of Brownsdale) in the southeast corner of the land owned by Craig Bauman.

The area of Red Rock Township around the town of Brownsdale was the source of much of the lumber which helped to build Mower County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.4 square miles (91.7 km2), all land.

Nicolville is an unincorporated area on the southern border with Windom Township.

It is located along Mower County Highway 46 (Old U.S. Route 16) about a mile north and east of Austin.