Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1985 on and the census since 1900.
The Thompson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thompson’s history is told.
Peaked at 698 in 1950; 495 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Thompson’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Thompson.
Thompson was platted in 1892. It was incorporated as a city in 1894.
A post office opened in 1890, and rural carrier service was established in 1904.
The Thompson Courier began publication in 1894, and is still in business. In 1938, the paper expanded operations with the purchase of the Rake Register, becoming the Thompson Courier and Rake Register.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Thompson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
was more rapid and in 1915 the population was 1,183, King being the fourth township of the county in the number of inhabitants. Located on the railroad, a little southeast of the center of the township, is the incorporated town of Thompson, a history of which is given in another chapter. There are eight public schools in King, exclusive of the independeiit school district of Thompson, and in 1916 the property was appraised for taxation at $379,665, not including the appraisement of property in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settlements were made while the territory was still a part of Norway Township. Eden has no railroad. The most convenient railroad stations are Rake and Thompson, in Winnebago County, and Bricelyn, Minnesota. The township has six public schools and reported a population of 623 in 1915, Avhen the state census was taken.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thompson.
1985Mason City sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Thompson.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Thompson’s post office has been open since 1890.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Thompson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
