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C−History
History · Coon Rapids

Coon Rapids was first counted by the census in 1860

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #243 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Coon Rapids was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1860.

1860first census
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Coon Rapids began

When was Coon Rapids founded?

1860

Coon Rapids first appears in the census in 1860. Another post office, Coon Creek (1869), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 602 in 18602020 census: 63,599166 years

How historic is Coon Rapids?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Coon Rapids’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coon Rapids is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #243 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coon Rapids’ overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±0.6) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 11%

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 Coon Rapids’ 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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Coon Rapids’ 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 Coon Rapids are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1993. Watch Coon Rapids change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Coon Rapids, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coon Rapids’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coon Rapids’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

Coon Rapids, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,0001900195020001,498 in 1870Low: 261

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the map

Coon Rapids on the map, 1902 to 1993

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

Coon Rapids on the 1902 USGS mapCoon Rapids on the 1952 USGS mapCoon Rapids on the 1967 USGS mapCoon Rapids on the 1972 USGS mapCoon Rapids on the 1980 USGS mapCoon Rapids on the 1993 USGS map1902Anoka 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 Coon Rapids.

The story

How Coon Rapids came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coon Rapids.

Read it all →

Settlers were first attracted to the area by Coon Creek, named for the many raccoons hunted in the 19th century at the mouth of the creek.

In 1835, the Red River Ox Cart Trail was laid to establish military and trade connections between Minneapolis and Anoka. The first industries of Coon Rapids sprung up around the road, including the prominent Anoka Pressed Brick and Terra Cotta Company, founded by D. C. Dunham in 1881. The clay excavation site—known locally as the "Clay Hole"—is one of the lasting reminders of Coon Rapids's industrial history. Today, the vital Red River Ox Cart Trail is known as Coon Rapids Boulevard and remains an important commercial corridor for the city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coon Rapids, 1869 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Coon Creek post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1905Post officeThe Coon Creek post office closes
  6. 1966Born hereGretchen Carlson is born here
  7. 1973Born hereBrandon Paulson is born here
  8. 1979Born hereDan Johnson is born here
  9. 1990Born hereJared Berggren is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 63,599
By decade

Coon Rapids, decade by decade

Today20 recent
Mercy Hospital2026Mercy HospitalCoon Rapids Water Tower Looking Towards Downtown Minneapolis2024Coon Rapids Water Tower Looking Towards Downtown Minn…RV Surge Protector EMS-PT30X Progressive Industries2017RV Surge Protector EMS-PT30X Progressive IndustriesCrhsFrontWinter20152015CrhsFrontWinter2015Abandoned Circuit City2015Abandoned Circuit CityMississippi River Trail2014Mississippi River TrailMississippi River Trail - panoramio (1)2014Mississippi River Trail - panoramio (1)Coon Rapids High School Front Winter 20142014Coon Rapids High School Front Winter 2014Mississippi River2013Mississippi RiverCoon Rapids Dam Regional Park Wiki Version2013Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park Wiki VersionUSMC-110927-M-AV740-0022011USMC-110927-M-AV740-002Coon Creek Speed2011Coon Creek SpeedSunset - panoramio - Andrew Balfour2008Sunset - panoramio - Andrew BalfourRiver Pan2008River PanCoon Rapids, MN, USA2008Coon Rapids, MN, USACoon Creek trail2008Coon Creek trailCoon Creek Train Bridge2008Coon Creek Train BridgeWFMP-FM 107-Minnesota State Fair2006WFMP-FM 107-Minnesota State FairRichardPBraunBridge2006RichardPBraunBridgeMNMap-doton-Coon Rapids2005MNMap-doton-Coon Rapids
Famous people

10 famous people were born in Coon Rapids

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

See all →
Gretchen CarlsonAmerican broadcast journalist, author, televisi… · b. 1966
B
Brandon PaulsonOlympic wrestler · b. 1973
Jared BerggrenAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Dan JohnsonMajor League Baseball first baseman in the Toro… · b. 1979
Josh LangfeldAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1977
B
Ben NelsonAmerican football player · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Coon Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Coon CreekNorthdaleThompson HeightsThompson Riverview Terrace
Gone or out of use
Cooncreek Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Coon Rapids
Epiphany Catholic ChurchJoyce ChapelMorningside Memorial Gardens

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.

Andover1 historic placeCBrooklyn ParkIts storyC−Anoka8 historic placesB+BlaineIts storyDChamplin2 historic placesCFridley1 historic placeB−

Questions about Coon Rapids’ history

What year was Coon Rapids founded?

The Coon Rapids post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Coon Rapids rank for history?

Coon Rapids is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #243 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.

How old are the homes in Coon Rapids?

2% of Coon Rapids’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (20), 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.