Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1880.
The Alden post office opened in 1866, 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 Alden’s history is told.
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.
1905Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Alden.
A post office called Alden has been in operation since 1866. Alden was platted in 1869 when the railroad was extended to that point. Edmond Conn (1914-1998), farmer, businessman, and politician, was born in Alden.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Alden, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 1871 the town of Alden issued bonds to the Southern Min¬ nesota Railroad for $30,000 as a bonus for establishing a railroad station. The road, which was completed to Albert Lea in the fall of 1869, came through Alden in mid-winter and was pushed on to Wells in January of 1870. The bonds became due in 1901, and a question was raised as to their legality. A bitter fight was car¬ ried into the courts and many complications arose. Eventually, however, the bonds were paid, the distribution of the burden
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
DiSTiuf'T No. 93. — This district embraces the territory known as the Alden District, with a schoolhouse in the village of Alden. The schoolhouse was ei'ected in the summer of 1875, size 20x40 feet, two stories high, with two rooms, and cost about $2,300. The first school was taught by George Miller in 1876, for .$45 per month, with fifty-seven scholars in attendance. The last term
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A. G. Hall arrived in 1865, in the spring, coming from McGregor, Iowa, to Alden, with horse teams, and being twenty -four days on the road. Shortly after his arrival he bought out the claim of John Houck, in section one, where he remained until the village of Alden was projected, and then went to that jjlaoe and erected the first building there. He was the first chairman of Suj)(Tvisors
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
erected, the edifice being dedicated the same year. In 1898 additions were built to it on the north and south sides. A par¬ sonage was built soon after the church was organized and was occupied by the pastors until 1883, when Alden was put in the circuit. As Alden was a railroad town, the pastor then moved to Alden, and the parsonage has since been located in that place.
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.
Born hereBeanie Eberts is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alden. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alden.
Between 235 and 713 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alden’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Alden post office opened in 1866, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2023
2005