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B+History
History · Benson

Benson’s post office opened in 1870, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #55 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Swift County Courthouse, the Christ Church-Episcopal and the Church of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic. Its Register listings are the Swift County Courthouse, the Christ Church-Episcopal and the Church of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
3on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Benson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Benson began

When was Benson founded?

1870

The Benson post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 456 in 18802020 census: 3,480156 years

How historic is Benson?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Benson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Benson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Benson is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #55 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Benson’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.9% of homes (±6.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 8.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 80%

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 Benson’s 8.7 sits above most of its state (74% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). 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 Benson’s past

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

Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1916, drew every building in Benson.Old housesHalf of Benson’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Every building

Benson, building by building, 1892–1916

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.

Benson fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Benson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benson.

Read it all →

Benson was platted in 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. As the end of the tracks, Benson became a lively trading center. Benson was the market for a 100-mile area in almost all directions.

The city was named for Ben H. Benson, a Norwegian settler. Benson was incorporated as a city in 1908.

The town's early history included many tragedies, such as an 1872 smallpox epidemic, an 1876 grasshopper plague, and a fire in 1880 that wiped out a whole city block.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Benson, 1870 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Benson post office opens
  3. 1898BuiltSwift County Courthouse is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Born hereEdgar Dale is born here
  6. 1908In the archiveHigh School, Benson, Minn
  7. 1939In the archivePostmaster
  8. 1943Born hereJames A. Johnson is born here
  9. 1950Born hereLyn Yvonne Abramson is born here
  10. 1957Born hereMark Kennedy is born here
  11. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Benson, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s5 items
High School, Benson, Minn1908High School, Benson, MinnHigh School, Benson, Minn1908High School, Benson, MinnPacific Avenue, Benson, Minn., looking west1908Pacific Avenue, Benson, Minn., looking westPacific Avenue, Benson, Minn., looking west1908Pacific Avenue, Benson, Minn., looking westPostmaster1939Postmaster
1940s–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
Today12 recent
Pilgrim Congregational UCC2024Pilgrim Congregational UCCPacific Avenue and 13th Street2024Pacific Avenue and 13th StreetPacific Avenue and 12th Street2024Pacific Avenue and 12th StreetMunicipal Building2024Municipal BuildingBusinesses on Pacific Avenue2024Businesses on Pacific AvenueBenson Public Library2024Benson Public LibraryBenson High School sign2024Benson High School signAtlantic Avenue and 13th Street2024Atlantic Avenue and 13th StreetAtlantic Avenue and 12th Street2024Atlantic Avenue and 12th StreetCity of Benson, Minnesota - Water Tower2016City of Benson, Minnesota - Water Tower1968 Plymouth Barracuda20161968 Plymouth BarracudaMNMap-doton-Benson2005MNMap-doton-Benson
On the map

Benson on the map, 1968 to 1986

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

Benson on the 1968 USGS mapBenson on the 1986 USGS map1968Benson 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 Benson.

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.

High School, Benson, Minn
Retake this viewHigh School, Benson, Minn, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Benson

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Swift County Courthouse
Swift County Courthouse, built 1898Christ Church-EpiscopalChurch of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Richardsonian Romanesque1
Gothic Revival1
Renaissance1
Swift County CourthouseRichardsonian Romanesque · Built 1898
Christ Church-EpiscopalGothic Revival
Church of St. Francis Xavier-CatholicRenaissance

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

People over time

Benson, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,678

Between 456 and 3,678 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Benson

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

See all →
Mark KennedyAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1957
E
Edgar DaleLearning pyramid by Edgar Dale · b. 1900
L
Lyn Yvonne AbramsonAmerican psychologist · b. 1950
J
James A. JohnsonAmerican businessman and political figure · b. 1943
S
Sandra PetersonAmerican politician · b. 1936
C
Cliff Olsonb. 1905
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Benson’s post office has been open since 1870.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Benson Mobile Manor
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Benson
Benson CityOur Redeemer

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

Help out

Finish Benson’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHigh School, Benson, Minn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Torning TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSix Mile Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Benson’s history

What year was Benson founded?

The Benson post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Benson rank for history?

Benson is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #55 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.

What is on the National Register in Benson?

Three places: the Swift County Courthouse (listed 1977), the Christ Church-Episcopal (1985) and the Church of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic (1985).

How old are the homes in Benson?

21% of Benson’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 1959.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.