Its Register listings are the John Knotz House, the Paul Mohrbacher House and the Philip Guettler House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1880.
The Cologne post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Benton (1861), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 60 in 18802020 census: 2,047147 years
How historic is Cologne?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cologne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cologne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cologne is more historic than 62% 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 Cologne’s overall grade.
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 Cologne’s 17.5 sits above most of its state (82% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 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 Cologne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cologne was platted in 1880, and incorporated in 1881. The community was named for Cologne, Germany.
In 1939, the town of Cologne was preserved on film in the amateur short subject Cologne: From the Diary of Ray and Esther, which chronicles aspects of life in the German-American community prior to the American engagement in World War II. The film was named to the National Film Registry in 2001, and is one of only a half-dozen amateur works to be included on the list.
In March 2015 the city of Cologne, Minnesota hired Jesse Dickson as their city administrator.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Cologne’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Benton, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Benton
1861–1883
Cologne
1879–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Benton
Gone or out of use
Benton Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Cologne
Saint Bernard
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Cologne’s history
What year was Cologne founded?
The Cologne post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cologne rank for history?
Cologne is more historic than 62% 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 Cologne?
Three places: the John Knotz House (listed 1980), the Paul Mohrbacher House (1980) and the Philip Guettler House (1980).
How old are the homes in Cologne?
15% of Cologne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (6), 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) 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.
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