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C+History
History · Cambridge

Cambridge’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #147 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Cambridge was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Isanti County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1880.

1857first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cambridge began, and where its name came from

When was Cambridge founded?

1857

The Cambridge post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 136 in 18802020 census: 9,611169 years

How did Cambridge get its name?

Cambridge was named by, and originally settled by, immigrants from New England.

How historic is Cambridge?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cambridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cambridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #147 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.6% of homes (±3.1) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 46%

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 Cambridge’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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 Cambridge’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 Cambridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cambridge’s collection

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

How Cambridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cambridge.

Read it all →

The city of Cambridge was established in the late 19th century along the railroad from Minneapolis to Duluth. It was named by, and originally settled by, immigrants from New England. These were settlers who were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England during the colonial era. The same population founded and named the town of Princeton nearby. Later on the surrounding area would be heavily populated with Swedish, and German, immigrants.

In the early 20th century, Cambridge had a potato starch factory, a 1,301-barrel flour mill, a wool carding and spinning mill, an electric lighting plant, and local and long-distance telephone systems.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cambridge, 1857 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Cambridge post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Born hereMickey Erickson is born here
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1970Born hereKerri Hoskins is born here
  7. 1994Born hereJake Bischoff is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2002Born hereGrace McCallum is born here
By decade

Cambridge, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Fire Station2025Fire StationCounty Jail2025County JailCommercial businesses on Main Street2025Commercial businesses on Main StreetCommercial Businesses on 2nd Avenue SW2025Commercial Businesses on 2nd Avenue SWCity Hall2025City HallArrowhead Transit bus downtown2025Arrowhead Transit bus downtownArrowhead Transit Ribbon Cutting for RideSmart 20252025Arrowhead Transit Ribbon Cutting for RideSmart 2025Arrowhead Transit Bus Stop in2025Arrowhead Transit Bus Stop inFirst Baptist Church2013First Baptist ChurchWest Riverside School 22009West Riverside School 2Isanti Co Courthouse 42009Isanti Co Courthouse 4MNMap-doton-Cambridge2005MNMap-doton-Cambridge
On the map

Cambridge on the map, 1961 to 1991

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

Cambridge on the 1961 USGS mapCambridge on the 1983 USGS mapCambridge on the 1991 USGS map1961Cambridge 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 Cambridge.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cambridge

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Isanti County Courthouse
Isanti County Courthouse
Buildings
Isanti County CourthouseBuilding

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

People over time

Cambridge, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020209,611

Grew from 136 people in 1880 to 9,611 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Cambridge

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

See all →
Grace McCallumAmerican artistic gymnast · b. 2002
Kerri HoskinsAmerican actress and model · b. 1970
Jake BischoffAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1994
M
Mickey EricksonAmerican football player · b. 1905
T
Terry BaxterAmerican politician in the state of Iowa · b. 1957
J
Jimmy GordonAmerican politician · b. 1987
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Cambridge’s post office has been open since 1857.

Hamlets and corners on the map
EdgewoodPine Village Mobile Home Park
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cambridge
Cambridge LutheranCambridge UnionChrist the King CatholicGarden of Remembrance

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.

Isanti Township1 historic placeB−Cambridge Township1 historic placeBSpringvale TownshipIts storyCBradford Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Cambridge’s history

What year was Cambridge founded?

The Cambridge post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cambridge rank for history?

Cambridge is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #147 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 Cambridge?

One place: the Isanti County Courthouse (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Cambridge?

7% of Cambridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.