More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #270 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Albertville was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.
The Albertville post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint Michael Station (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 222 in 19102020 census: 7,896117 years
How historic is Albertville?
D−
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Albertville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Albertville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albertville is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albertville’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 Albertville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Albertville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that is known as Albertville was first a town site called "Hamburg" by Joseph Vetsch. Later that same year in August, the Minneapolis and Northwestern Railroad Company bought land for a railroad through the area (now the BNSF rail in downtown Albertville). After 30 years of contributions to the area, including Albert Zachman, who donated land for the current historic church by Central Park (also recognized as Lions Park) J.P. Eull and Theodore Aydt proposed a petition to incorporate the township as Saint Michael Station with a population of 190. The first election held, to construct a village hall, happened in 1903. It passed on a vote of 20-18 with a cost of $531.95 ($4,035.03 today). In the next few years, the town started to raise funds for a Catholic church, completed in 1902, was named the Church of St. Albert, in honor of Albert Zachman's contributions to the town. In 190…
Passages that mention Albertville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 727Read the page →
Read the text
Albertville, formerly called St. Michael Station or St. Michael’s Station, is an enterprising business center, and an excellent trading point for a good farming district. The village is ineorporated, connected with the outside world by both telephone and telegraph and has excellent schools. Its business men are up and doing, carry large, well selected stocks and are making a bid for patronage in the way of prices that is felt in all sections. Albertville has about 450 inhabitants and is surrounded with as desirable
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 571Read the page →
Read the text
is also in need of better equipment. Dist, 49--School on N. W. 14 of 8. E. 14 of Sect. 26. A small school. Numerous improvements made in the last three years. Dist. 134—The school in the village of Albertville. This is a three-room school. The eight grades of work done. The equipment new and in good condition. Teachers of extended experience employed. Dist. 139—School on N. E.
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.
Timeline
Albertville, 1886 to 1998
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Albertville post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Albertville rank for history?
Albertville is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
How old are the homes in Albertville?
0.5% of Albertville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (1), 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.
2017