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B−History
History · Clearwater

Clearwater’s post office opened in 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Clearwater was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listings are the Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Republic Hall, the First Congregational Church of Clearwater and the William W. Webster House. Its Register listings are the Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Republic Hall, the First Congregational Church of Clearwater and the William W. Webster House. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1856first post office
3on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Clearwater began

When was Clearwater founded?

1856

The Clearwater post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 218 in 18802020 census: 1,922170 years

How historic is Clearwater?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Clearwater’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clearwater is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clearwater’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.4% of homes (±3.8) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 15.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder

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 Clearwater’s 15.2 sits above most of its state (81% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Clearwater’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 Clearwater are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 9-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clearwater’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clearwater’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
People over time

Clearwater, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020331 in 1920Low: 212

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 9-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Clearwater came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clearwater.

Read it all →

Clearwater was platted in 1856, and named after the nearby Clearwater River. A post office has been in operation at Clearwater since 1856. Three properties in Clearwater are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the 1861 First Congregational Church of Clearwater, the 1863 William W. Webster House, and the 1888 Clearwater Masonic and Grand Army of the Republic Hall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Clearwater, 1898–1915

Passages that mention Clearwater, cut from the printed page as they were published.

William Vorse, wagonmaker, born in New York, October, 1808; settled in Clearwater township in 1855, where he first cultivated a farm, but after 1861, resided in the village of Clearwater. Nathan Warner, born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, March 4, 1830; came to Minnesota in 1866; settled in Buffalo in …
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 1097Read the page →
Read the text

William Vorse, wagonmaker, born in New York, October, 1808; settled in Clearwater township in 1855, where he first cultivated a farm, but after 1861, resided in the village of Clearwater. Nathan Warner, born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, March 4, 1830; came to Minnesota in 1866; settled in Buffalo in 1879; was a representative in the legislature in 1875-6, Adam J, Wood, farmer, born in Canada, March 9, 1816; came to Minnesota in 1855, settling in Otsego township, this county;

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1859, Mr. Chamberlain reports a ‘‘church on foot"’ at Clearwater and five communicants. In 1860 he reports two baptisms at Clearwater and six at Buffalo Lake; seven confirmations and seven communicants at Monticello; eight at Clearwater and two at Buffalo Lake, also seven confirmations at the la…
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 672Read the page →
Read the text

In 1859, Mr. Chamberlain reports a ‘‘church on foot"’ at Clearwater and five communicants. In 1860 he reports two baptisms at Clearwater and six at Buffalo Lake; seven confirmations and seven communicants at Monticello; eight at Clearwater and two at Buffalo Lake, also seven confirmations at the latter place.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the village of Clearwater a saw mill was erected in 1850 and a flouring mill soon after. Simon Stevens, Dr. Wheelock, Oakes, Porter, Webster, Farwell and others were here in 1855.
Lineage and family records of Alfred Wyman Hoar and his wife Josephine Jackson1898 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text

In the village of Clearwater a saw mill was erected in 1850 and a flouring mill soon after. Simon Stevens, Dr. Wheelock, Oakes, Porter, Webster, Farwell and others were here in 1855.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
January 2, 1861, a petition for and remonstrance against the proposition to set ofif a portion of the town of Silver Ci'eek and attach same to Clearwater were laid on the table. January 3 it was voted to allow school district 7 sj!? for holding the district court terms of October, 1859, and March a…
History of Wright County, Minnesota1915 · page 123Read the page →
Read the text

January 2, 1861, a petition for and remonstrance against the proposition to set ofif a portion of the town of Silver Ci'eek and attach same to Clearwater were laid on the table. January 3 it was voted to allow school district 7 sj!? for holding the district court terms of October, 1859, and March and September, 1860, in the schoolhouse. The second floor of Chambers' store building at Montieello was rented for several of the county offices. On September 3, 1861, the boundaries of several townshijis were

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Clearwater, 1856 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Clearwater post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,922
By decade

Clearwater, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Veterans Memorial Park2025Veterans Memorial ParkRiverside Park2025Riverside ParkPost Office2025Post OfficeParkway trail2025Parkway trailOld commercial buildings at Main and Maple Streets2025Old commercial buildings at Main and Maple StreetsOld commercial building in2025Old commercial building inMethodist Church2025Methodist ChurchCleawatermn2010Cleawatermn
On the map

Clearwater on the map, 1951 to 1991

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

Clearwater on the 1951 USGS mapClearwater on the 1974 USGS mapClearwater on the 1991 USGS map1951Annandale 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 Clearwater.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Clearwater

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Repu…
Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Republic HallFirst Congregational Church of ClearwaterWilliam W. Webster House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Republic HallBuilding
First Congregational Church of ClearwaterGreek Revival
William W. Webster HouseGreek Revival

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Clearwater

Nobody well known was born in Clearwater itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gig YoungAmerican actor · b. 1913
Joel GretschAmerican actor · b. 1963
June MarloweAmerican actress · b. 1903
A
Alise WilloughbyAmerican bicycle motocross rider · b. 1991
Dean BarkleyAmerican politician · b. 1950
Nate SchmidtAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Clearwater’s post office has been open since 1856.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Clearwater Estates
Gone or out of use
Clearwaterlocale
1cemetery inside Clearwater
Saint Luke

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.

Clearwater TownshipIts storyCLynden TownshipIts storyC−Clear Lake TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Clearwater’s history

What year was Clearwater founded?

The Clearwater post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Clearwater rank for history?

Clearwater is more historic than 53% 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 Clearwater?

Three places: the Clearwater Masonic Lodge-Grand Army of the Republic Hall (listed 1979), the First Congregational Church of Clearwater (1979) and the William W. Webster House (1979).

How old are the homes in Clearwater?

9% of Clearwater’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2002.

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 (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.