3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1920.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crosby is more historic than 63% 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 Crosby’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 Crosby’s 31.6 sits above most of its state (90% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±5.4 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 Crosby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Crosby was built for the sole purpose of mining. It was named for George H. Crosby, a businessman in the mining industry.
Crosby was the location of Minnesota's worst mining disaster, the Milford Mine disaster. On February 5, 1924, a new tunnel was blasted too close to nearby Foley Lake, and water rushed in, killing 41 miners.
In the 1932 local elections, Karl Emil Nygard was elected president of Crosby's Village Council, making it the first city in the United States to have a Communist mayor. 27-year-old Nygard won by a vote of 529 - 359, with goals to raise money for families on welfare, declare a moratorium on government debts to local banks, and guarantee water and electricity services to all citizens.
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.
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.
The Crosby post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Crosby rank for history?
Crosby is more historic than 63% 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 Crosby?
Three places: the Ironton Sintering Plant Complex (listed 1980), the Elevated Metal Water Tank, Crosby (1980) and the Soo Line Depot (1980).
How old are the homes in Crosby?
27% of Crosby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1964.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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