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History · Randall

Randall’s post office opened in 1881, and 66% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
66%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Randall began

When was Randall founded?

1881

The Randall post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Vicksburgh (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 239 in 18902020 census: 79145 years
Founding year: the first Randall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Randall’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Randall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Randall change.Old housesHalf of Randall’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 325 in 1910; 79 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Randall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Randall’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Randall on the map, 1894 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Randall. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Randall on the 1894 USGS mapRandall on the 1969 USGS mapRandall on the 1985 USGS map1894Mankato sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Randall.

The story

How Randall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Randall.

Read it all →

Randall was originally called Vicksburg, and under the latter name laid out in 1870. It was renamed Randall in 1882. The community was named for Edward Randall, an original owner of the site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Randall, 1870 to 1910

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Vicksburgh post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Vicksburgh post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Randall post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 325
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Randall, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 325

Peaked at 325 in 1910; 79 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Randall’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Randall’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Vicksburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Vicksburgh
1870–1881
Randall
1881–today
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Randall’s history

What year was Randall founded?

The Randall post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.