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–Not graded
History · Calumet

Calumet’s post office opened in 1908, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1910.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Calumet began

When was Calumet founded?

1908

The Calumet post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 245 in 19102020 census: 334118 years
Founding year: the first Calumet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Calumet’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 Calumet are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 946 in 1940; 334 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Calumet’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Calumet’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Calumet, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 946

Peaked at 946 in 1940; 334 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Calumet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Calumet.

Read it all →

A post office called Calumet has been in operation since 1908. The city was named after the French, colonial-era word often used for a Native American ceremonial pipe.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Calumet, 1940 to 1952

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 946
  3. 1951Born hereMike Antonovich is born here
  4. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Calumet, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Itasca County MN 169 Calumet IMG 13532012Itasca County MN 169 Calumet IMG 1353Itasca County MN 169 Calumet Hill Annex Mine mt IMG 13552012Itasca County MN 169 Calumet Hill Annex Mine mt IMG 1…
On the map

Calumet on the map, 1952 to 1992

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

Calumet on the 1952 USGS mapCalumet on the 1969 USGS mapCalumet on the 1992 USGS map1952Calumet 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 Calumet.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Marble2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Calumet’s history

What year was Calumet founded?

The Calumet post office opened in 1908, 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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.