–Not graded

History · Barrett

Barrett’s post office opened in 1887, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Roosevelt Hall and the Barrett Lakeside Pavilion. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1900.

1887first post office

2on the National Register

44%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Barrett began

When was Barrett founded?

1887

The Barrett post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fridhem (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 237 in 19002020 census: 366139 years

Founding year: the first Barrett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Barrett’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 Barrett are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Barrett’s homes were built before 1952.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barrett’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barrett’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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The story

How Barrett came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barrett.

Read it all →

Barrett was platted in 1887. The community was named for General Theodore H. Barrett. A post office has been in operation at Barrett since 1887. Barrett was incorporated as a city in 1889. In 1900, a fire burned 23 buildings and caused a loss of almost $60,000. Three buildings in Barrett are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Roosevelt Hall, which is used for community theatre and other events.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Barrett, 1877 to 1911

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

19th century
1877Post officeThe Fridhem post office opens
1887Post officeThe Fridhem post office closes
1887Post officeThe Barrett post office opens
20th century
1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Barrett, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2026306LakeStBarrettMN

2022Untitled photo

2005MNMap-doton-Barrett

On the map

Barrett on the map, 1911 to 1973

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

1911Barrett sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Barrett

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1985

Roosevelt Hall

Buildings

Roosevelt HallBuilding

All 2 listings

Barrett Lakeside PavilionBuilding · listed 2026

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

People over time

Barrett, census by census

Between 237 and 415 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Barrett

Nobody well known was born in Barrett itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Mabel SeeleyAmerican writer · b. 1903

Hilda BettermannAmerican politician · b. 1942

Stu StarnerAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1943

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Barrett’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Fridhem, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fridhem

1877–1887

Barrett

1887–today

18701950today

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barrett

Barrett CovenantBethesdaNative American Burial GroundsUnion

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lien TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Elk Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Barrett’s history

What year was Barrett founded?

The Barrett post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Barrett?

Two places: the Roosevelt Hall (listed 1985) and the Barrett Lakeside Pavilion (2026).

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.

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