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A−History
History · Chisholm

Chisholm’s post office opened in 1901, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #32 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 55 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1910.

1901first post office
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chisholm’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chisholm began

When was Chisholm founded?

1901

The Chisholm post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 7,684 in 19102020 census: 4,775125 years

How historic is Chisholm?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chisholm post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chisholm’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chisholm is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #32 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chisholm’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194045.4% of homes (±10.7) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 56 historic buildings, 119 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 89%

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 Chisholm’s 119 sits above most of its state (98% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 56 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±10.7 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 Chisholm’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Chisholm Commercial Historic District takes in 55 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,039 in 1920; 4,775 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chisholm’s homes were built before 1945.Famous sons and daughtersJohn Shuster, Jim Oberstar and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 56 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
56
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Saints Peter and Paul Church-Ukranian Catholic
Saints Peter and Paul Church-Ukranian Catholic, built 1916Chisholm Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Saints Peter and Paul Church-Ukranian CatholicBuilt 1916
Chisholm Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict

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

People over time

Chisholm, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,039

Peaked at 9,039 in 1920; 4,775 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Chisholm came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chisholm.

Read it all →

The city was named for its founder, Archibald Mark Chisholm (1862–1933), a mining man and investor from Glengarry County, Ontario, Canada. Chisholm was incorporated in 1901. A post office called Chisholm has been in operation since 1901. With a railroad line to Duluth and plenty of mining work available in and near town, Chisholm's population grew rapidly, and by 1908 it had more than 6,000 people and 500 buildings. On September 5, 1908, a fast-moving forest fire obliterated the town due to dry conditions and the wooden construction of nearly all the town's buildings. Many people escaped by going into the lake. No one died in the fire. Afterward, building codes were enhanced, and by the next summer, more than 70 fireproof buildings had been erected.

Chapters1930s and 1940s1970s and 1980sSince the 1990s

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chisholm, 1901 to 1982

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Chisholm post office opens
  3. 1908In the archiveChisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days after the fire
  4. 1910In the archiveChisholm Mine
  5. 1911Born hereJohn Anton Blatnik is born here
  6. 1916BuiltSaints Peter and Paul Church-Ukranian Catholic is built
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 9,039
  8. 1934Born hereJim Oberstar is born here
  9. 1944Born hereRoger Enrico is born here
  10. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1982Born hereJohn Shuster is born here
By decade

Chisholm, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s9 items
Chisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days after the fire1908Chisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days afte…Chisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days after the fire1908Chisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days afte…Chisholm Mine1910Chisholm MineMonroe Mine1910Monroe MineClark Mine1910Clark MineLeonard Mine1910Leonard MineLake St1910Lake StBirdseye view of residence1910Birdseye view of residenceCorner of 1st Ave. & Lake St1910Corner of 1st Ave. & Lake St
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Damaged Properties - MinnesotaDate?Damaged Properties - Minnesota
Today13 recent
Longyear Lake2025Longyear LakeSC 396921 - Cpl. Joe Stainiger, 114 Tener Ave., Chrisholm, Minn., relaxes briefly from his duties as a member of artill…2023SC 396921 - Cpl. Joe Stainiger, 114 Tener Ave., Chris…DocumentChisholm, Minnesota (2021)2021Chisholm, Minnesota (2021)Aerial panorama of Chisholm, Minnesota, from over Longyear Lake2021Aerial panorama of Chisholm, Minnesota, from over Lon…Downtown Chisholm, Minnesota - Lake Street2017Downtown Chisholm, Minnesota - Lake StreetCity of Chisholm, Minnesota - Water Tower2017City of Chisholm, Minnesota - Water TowerCity Hall of2017City Hall ofSts Peter & Paul Church2014Sts Peter & Paul ChurchMinnesota Museum of Mining2014Minnesota Museum of MiningBruce Mine Headframe2014Bruce Mine HeadframeMesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (8)2010Mesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (8)Mesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (6)2010Mesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (6)Mesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (10)2010Mesabi Bike Trail - panoramio (10)
On the map

Chisholm on the map, 1951 to 1969

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

Chisholm on the 1951 USGS mapChisholm on the 1969 USGS map1951Hibbing 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 Chisholm.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Chisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days after the fire
Retake this viewChisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken sixty days after the fire, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chisholm’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

11 famous people were born in Chisholm

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

See all →
John ShusterAmerican curler · b. 1982
Jim OberstarUnited States Congressman · b. 1934
John Anton BlatnikAmerican politician · b. 1911
R
Roger EnricoAmerican businessman · b. 1944
Ann GovednikAmerican swimmer, Olympic athlete · b. 1916
B
Ben HobermanAmerican radio executive · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Chisholm’s post office has been open since 1901.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Spruce Shadows Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Chataco MinemineGlen MinemineHumphrey MinemineLeonard-Burt MinemineMonroe-Tener MinemineSaint Clair Minemine
1cemetery inside Chisholm
Calvary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Chisholm’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChisholm, Minn., Nov. 5th 1908, taken s…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Balkan Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chisholm’s history

What year was Chisholm founded?

The Chisholm post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chisholm rank for history?

Chisholm is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Chisholm?

Two places: the Saints Peter and Paul Church-Ukranian Catholic (listed 1980) and the Chisholm Commercial Historic District (2016).

How old are the homes in Chisholm?

45% of Chisholm’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1945.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.