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History · Beaver Bay

Beaver Bay’s post office opened in 1856, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1976 on, and the census since 1960.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beaver Bay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beaver Bay began

When was Beaver Bay founded?

1856

The Beaver Bay post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 287 in 19602020 census: 120170 years
Founding year: the first Beaver Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Beaver Bay’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 362 in 1970; 120 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beaver Bay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBeaver Bay, Minnesota Town Hall and Wel…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Beaver Bay, census by census

01002003004001960198020002020Peak: 362

Peaked at 362 in 1970; 120 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story

How Beaver Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beaver Bay.

Read it all →

Beaver Bay is the oldest settlement on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was established in 1856.

The community is also the home of the annual John Beargrease Dog Sled Race.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Beaver Bay, 1856 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Beaver Bay post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 362
  5. 1976On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Beaver Bay, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Beaver Bay, Minnesota Town Hall and Welcome SignDate?Beaver Bay, Minnesota Town Hall and Welcome Sign
Today17 recent
United States Post Office, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-022026United States Post Office, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-02Red Raven North Motel, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-022026Red Raven North Motel, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-02Red Raven North Motel, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-012026Red Raven North Motel, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-01Mini Mall2026Mini MallMini Mall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-022026Mini Mall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-02Mini Mall sign2026Mini Mall signLiquor sign2026Liquor signGift shop in2026Gift shop inFire Station2026Fire StationCity of2026City ofCity & Town Hall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-022026City & Town Hall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-02City & Town Hall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-012026City & Town Hall, Beaver Bay, Minnesota-01Fenstad's Beaver Bay Mini Mall - Minnesota's North Shore2019Fenstad's Beaver Bay Mini Mall - Minnesota's North Sh…Stairs-to-the-lake.jpg2015Stairs-to-the-lake.jpgWintertime Sunrise on Lake Superior2009Wintertime Sunrise on Lake SuperiorBeaverbay-blueanchor2007Beaverbay-blueanchorBeaver Bay.Alternate Title: North shore, Lake Superiorc. 2005Beaver Bay.Alternate Title: North shore, Lake Superior
On the map

Beaver Bay on the map, 1976 to 1982

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

Beaver Bay on the 1976 USGS mapBeaver Bay on the 1982 USGS map1976Two Harbors sheet · 1:100,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Beaver Bay, Minnesota Town Hall and Welcome Sign
Retake this viewBeaver Bay, Minnesota Town Hall and Welcome Sign

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Beaver Bay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Beaver Bay

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

See all →
P
Philip BerriganAmerican priest and anti-war activist · b. 1923
J
Johnny WesternAmerican singer · b. 1934
Leroy GoldsworthyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1908
B
Bill SteinNational Football League player · b. 1899
E
Eileen Rose BusbyAmerican historian and writer · b. 1922
Van CleaveAmerican composer · b. 1910
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Beaver Bay Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beaver Bay’s history

What year was Beaver Bay founded?

The Beaver Bay post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (18), 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.