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B+History
History · Appleton

Appleton dates to 1872, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Appleton City Hall. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

1872founded
1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Appleton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Appleton began

When was Appleton founded?

1872

Appleton dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 400 in 18802020 census: 1,392154 years

How historic is Appleton?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Appleton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Appleton 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 Appleton’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.0% of homes (±6.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 7.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder

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 Appleton’s 7.2 sits above most of its state (70% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1872.

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 Appleton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,871 in 2000; 1,392 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1915, drew every building in Appleton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Appleton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe old mill: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 99 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Pomme de Terre RiverAppleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene19082007
Appleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river sceneMatched from the two captions
People over time

Appleton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,871

Peaked at 2,871 in 2000; 1,392 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Appleton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Appleton.

Read it all →

Appleton was laid out in 1872, and named after the founder ´s birthplace in Appleton, Wisconsin. A post office has been in operation at Appleton since 1873. A flour mill on the banks of the Pomme de Terre River was in operation from 1872 until the late 1960’s. The Hastings and Dakota Railroad (out of Milwaukee, WI) was extended from Benson, Minnesota to Appleton in 1872.

Appleton was incorporated in 1881. Gethsemane Episcopal Church, on North Hering Street at Snelling Avenue, was built in 1879 like Appleton City Hall and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Appleton, 1872 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingAppleton is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Clarksfield post office opens
  4. 1873Post officeThe Clarksfield post office closes
  5. 1873Post officeThe Appleton post office opens
  6. 1895BuiltAppleton City Hall is built
  7. 1895Born hereElmer Austin Benson is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Born hereClinton Sundberg is born here
  10. 1908In the archiveThe old mill
  11. 1942Born hereJerry Koosman is born here
  12. 1953Born hereBrad Rheingans is born here
  13. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 21st century
  15. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,871
By decade

Appleton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
The old mill1908The old millAppleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene1908Appleton, Minn. Pomme de Terre river scene
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Agriculture Grain Elevator - Highway 72017Agriculture Grain Elevator - Highway 7Appleton MN2010Appleton MNPommeDeTerre Rocks and Gifts2008PommeDeTerre Rocks and GiftsAppleton MN NG Sherman22008Appleton MN NG Sherman2Appleton MN NG Sherman2008Appleton MN NG ShermanPomme de Terre River2007Pomme de Terre RiverPomme de Terre Riv2007Pomme de Terre Riv
On the map

Appleton on the map, 1958 to 1985

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

Appleton on the 1958 USGS mapAppleton on the 1985 USGS map1958Appleton sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Appleton, building by building, 1894–1915

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.

Appleton fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Appleton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Appleton City Hall
Appleton City Hall, built 1895
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Richardsonian1
Appleton City HallRichardsonian · Built 1895

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Appleton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Elmer Austin BensonAmerican politician · b. 1895
Clinton SundbergAmerican actor · b. 1903
Brad RheingansAmerican wrestler · b. 1953
Jerry KoosmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1942
C
Chuck BrownAmerican politician in Minnesota · b. 1951
D
David BierkAmerican-Canadian painter · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Appleton’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Clarksfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clarksfield
1872–1873
Appleton
1873–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Pomme de Terre River Damdam
1cemetery inside Appleton
Appleton

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

Questions about Appleton’s history

What year was Appleton founded?

In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Appleton’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1880 counted 400 people here.

How does Appleton rank for history?

Appleton 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 Appleton?

One place: the Appleton City Hall (listed 1977).

How old are the homes in Appleton?

35% of Appleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1954.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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 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.