Its Register listings are the Norman County Courthouse, the Congregational Church of Ada and the Ada Village Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
Ada dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 138 in 18802020 census: 1,740152 years
How did Ada get its name?
Ada was named in honor of a daughter of William H. Fisher (the namesake of Fisher, Minnesota), of St. Paul, then attorney and superintendent of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, under whose superintendency this line of the Red River Valley was constructed.
How historic is Ada?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ada is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ada’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ada’s 16.4 sits above most of its state (82% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1874.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ada’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Ada was laid out in 1874 and incorporated on February 9, 1881. It was named in honor of a daughter of William H. Fisher (the namesake of Fisher, Minnesota), of St. Paul, then attorney and superintendent of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, under whose superintendency this line of the Red River Valley was constructed. A post office has been in operation at Ada since 1876. As Norman County grew in the 1880s, they were outgrowing their current space being used as a county courthouse in Ada, and erecting a new building was on the horizon. At the time, Norman County was bigger than today, with Twin Valley roughly at the geographic center. Starting in 1900, Twin Valley worked to rally support behind the goal of building the new courthouse there, turning it into the county seat as well. Two petitions and one vote later, Ada won the challenge. In 1906, it became a moot point when Mahnome…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ada’s history
What year was Ada founded?
In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ada’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1880 counted 138 people here.
How does Ada rank for history?
Ada is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ada?
Three places: the Norman County Courthouse (listed 1983), the Congregational Church of Ada (1984) and the Ada Village Hall (1998).
How old are the homes in Ada?
24% of Ada’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1963.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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