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History · Callaway

Callaway’s post office opened in 1905, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1910.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Callaway began

When was Callaway founded?

1905

The Callaway post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Calloway (1904), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 276 in 19102020 census: 178121 years
Founding year: the first Callaway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Callaway’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 Callaway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 325 in 1920; 178 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Callaway’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Callaway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Callaway’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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People over time

Callaway, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 325

Peaked at 325 in 1920; 178 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Callaway, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Callaway yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Callaway is a city in Becker County, Minnesota, USA, approximately 11 miles from the county seat, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The population was 178 at the 2020 census. Callaway is often associated with a nearby town, Richwood, Minnesota.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 234 to 178 (-24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Callaway, 1904 to 1959

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Calloway post office opens
  3. 1905Post officeThe Calloway post office closes
  4. 1905Post officeThe Callaway post office opens
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 325
  6. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Callaway, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Welcome sign, Callaway, Minnesota-022025Welcome sign, Callaway, Minnesota-02Welcome sign, Callaway, Minnesota-012025Welcome sign, Callaway, Minnesota-01Water tower and wind turbine, Callaway, Minnesota-022025Water tower and wind turbine, Callaway, Minnesota-02Water tower and wind turbine, Callaway, Minnesota-012025Water tower and wind turbine, Callaway, Minnesota-01United States Post Office2025United States Post OfficeEvent Center2025Event CenterCommercial Building2025Commercial BuildingCity Hall2025City Hall
On the map

Callaway on the map, 1959 to 1986

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

Callaway on the 1959 USGS mapCallaway on the 1986 USGS map1959Callaway 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 Callaway.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Callaway’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Calloway, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Calloway
1904–1905
Callaway
1905–today
19001960today

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.

Callaway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Callaway’s history

What year was Callaway founded?

The Callaway post office opened in 1905, 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 (8), 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.