Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1900.
The Climax post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Meos (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Climax’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Climax yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Climax is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 243 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 267 to 243 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Climax, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ments, and the wife and ohild arriving in May. When the railroad was constructed through here it was built along the section line nearly the whole length of his land, and when Climax was made a railroad station Mr. Nelson sold a part of his land along the road in town lots, and he has since sold more, as the village of Climax is partly on his farm, and his own residence is in the village, although the farm build-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
was married. He was prudent and thrifty and luid saved up some money. When the railroad came through that part of the county he bought a lot and put up a dwelling in the new village of Climax. While living in Climax, in company with his brotherin-law, Levi Steenerson, he traded in wheat for a while.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveClimax, Minnesota
In the archiveClimax High School (Minnesota) yearbook "The Viking Yearbook", page 36 (cropped to Raymon…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2021Climax, Minnesota welcome sign
2021Climax, Minnesota street view
2020Water Tower--Climax, Minnesota
2020Climax Library--Climax, Minnesota
2020Climax Grain Coop Association elevators--Climax, MN-02
2015Climax Grain Coop Association elevators--Climax, MN
2011Sand Hill River
2007Climax Minnesota
2005MNMap-doton-ClimaxEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Climax. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Climax.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Climax’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 239 and 310 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Climax’s Wikipedia page.
Climax’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Meos, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Climax post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), 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.
1961