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History · Carlton

Carlton’s post office opened in 1882, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Carlton County Courthouse and the Henry C. Oldenburg House. Its Register listings are the Carlton County Courthouse and the Henry C. Oldenburg House. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Carlton began

When was Carlton founded?

1882

The Carlton post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Thomson (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 168 in 18802020 census: 948144 years
Founding year: the first Carlton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Carlton’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 Carlton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1914, drew every building in Carlton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carlton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carlton’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
Every building

Carlton, building by building, 1892–1914

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.

Carlton fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Carlton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carlton.

Read it all →

In 1870, the Northern Pacific Railroad finished a stretch of track that linked Duluth to St. Paul. Temporary shacks were erected for the workmen at the place that was soon known as "Northern Pacific Junction". In 1881, this settlement was incorporated as Carlton. It takes its name from former State Senator Reuben B. Carlton.

Carlton absorbed the city of Thomson in 2015, with the approval of a majority of voters in both cities.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carlton, 1870 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Thomson post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Carlton post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Carlton post office closes
  5. 1891Post officeThe Carlton post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1955Post officeThe Thomson post office closes
By decade

Carlton, decade by decade

Today15 recent
W. P. Junction Books2026W. P. Junction BooksUniversity of Minnesota Extension Office, Carlton County, Minnesota2026University of Minnesota Extension Office, Carlton Cou…Sidewalk on Third Street looking north toward courthouse2026Sidewalk on Third Street looking north toward courtho…Sidewalk on Chestnut Avenue looking west2026Sidewalk on Chestnut Avenue looking westPlaza2026PlazaPlaza with Watertown and bar2026Plaza with Watertown and barChestnut Avenue looking west2026Chestnut Avenue looking westChestnut Avenue and Third Street2026Chestnut Avenue and Third StreetCarlton High School2026Carlton High SchoolBusinesses on Chestnut Avenue2026Businesses on Chestnut AvenueCarlton High School in2021Carlton High School inCity of Carlton, Minnesota - Water Tower2018City of Carlton, Minnesota - Water TowerSt. Louis River, Jay Cooke State Park, Minnesota2017St. Louis River, Jay Cooke State Park, MinnesotaOldenburg House 32008Oldenburg House 3MNMap-doton-Carlton2005MNMap-doton-Carlton
On the map

Carlton on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Carlton on the 1954 USGS mapCarlton on the 1969 USGS mapCarlton on the 1975 USGS mapCarlton on the 1993 USGS map1954Cloquet 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 Carlton.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Carlton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Carlton County Courthouse
Carlton County CourthouseHenry C. Oldenburg House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival1
Classical Revival1
Carlton County CourthouseRenaissance Revival
Henry C. Oldenburg HouseClassical Revival

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

People over time

Carlton, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020948

Grew from 168 people in 1880 to 948 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Carlton had its own post office from 1882 to 1886. Another post office, Thomson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Thomson
1870–1955
Carlton
1882–1886
Carlton
1891–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Thomson
Gone or out of use
ThomsonlocaleThomson Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carlton
HillsideSaint FrancisThomson

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.

Twin Lakes TownshipIts storyC−Thomson Township4 historic placesB

Questions about Carlton’s history

What year was Carlton founded?

The Carlton post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Carlton?

Two places: the Carlton County Courthouse (listed 1985) and the Henry C. Oldenburg House (2006).

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 (15), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.