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D−History
History · Circle Pines

Circle Pines’ post office opened in 1948

Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Circle Pines was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1960.

1948first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domain
Quick answers

How Circle Pines began

When was Circle Pines founded?

1948

The Circle Pines post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1950.

First census: 2,789 in 19602020 census: 5,02578 years

How historic is Circle Pines?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Circle Pines post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1950.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Circle Pines’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Circle Pines is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Circle Pines’ overall grade.
Founding era1948, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.5) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)#273 of 273

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 Circle Pines’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1950 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Circle Pines’ 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 Circle Pines are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1993. Watch Circle Pines change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Circle Pines’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Circle Pines’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
On the map

Circle Pines on the map, 1902 to 1993

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

Circle Pines on the 1902 USGS mapCircle Pines on the 1955 USGS mapCircle Pines on the 1967 USGS mapCircle Pines on the 1972 USGS mapCircle Pines on the 1980 USGS mapCircle Pines on the 1993 USGS map1902White Bear 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 Circle Pines.

The story

How Circle Pines came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Circle Pines.

Read it all →

Circle Pines was founded as a planned cooperative community in which homeowners owned equal shares in the cooperative association which owned and developed the community. The name was selected because the cooperative movement in the United States in the 1940s used a circle encompassing two pine trees as its symbol. Although the community is no longer governed as a co–op, a municipally–owned gas utility remains as an operational memorial to Circle Pines' community heritage.

The Gibas family were one of the original families of the Circle Pines cooperative. Their papers offer further insight into the origins of Circle Pines, Minnesota. Articles and speeches, news clippings, correspondence, and photographs are available for research use.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Circle Pines, 1902 to 1985

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1948Post officeThe Circle Pines post office opens
  4. 1960Born hereMary Jo Pehl is born here
  5. 1985Born hereKaitlin Young is born here
By decade

Circle Pines, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Garden City Hall 22013Garden City Hall 2MNMap-doton-Circle Pines2005MNMap-doton-Circle Pines
People over time

Circle Pines, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5001960198020002020Peak: 5,025

Between 2,789 and 5,025 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Circle Pines

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

See all →
K
Kaitlin YoungAmerican martial artist · b. 1985
Mary Jo PehlAmerican actress · b. 1960
Places that used to be

Old corners

Circle Pines’s post office has been open since 1948.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lexington

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.

BlaineIts storyDLino LakesIts storyDLexingtonIts storyD

Questions about Circle Pines’ history

What year was Circle Pines founded?

The Circle Pines post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1950.

How does Circle Pines rank for history?

Circle Pines is among the newest 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.

How old are the homes in Circle Pines?

0.0% of Circle Pines’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (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.