3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Canby post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Canby’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canby is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canby’s overall grade.
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 Canby’s 174 sits above most of its state (99% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 27 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±6.0 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 Canby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
John Swenson, who secured a homestead on section 4 of Norman Township where now stands the City of Canby, was one of the early European settlers in the area. After erecting a claim shanty, for the convenience of his neighbors, he opened a little store in his cabin. In November 1874, he secured the establishment of a post office in that store. At Swenson's suggestion, the post office was named Canby, in honor of Civil War and career officer General Edward Canby of the United States Army. (General Canby had been assassinated the prior year during peace negotiations with the Modoc Tribe of Northern California.)
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.
The Canby post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Canby rank for history?
Canby is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. 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 Canby?
Three places: the John G. Lund House (listed 1978), the Canby Commercial Historic District (1980) and the Lundring Service Station (1986).
How old are the homes in Canby?
27% of Canby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 (3), Wikidata (3), 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) 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.
Date?
2013
