The story
Read it all →How Deer Creek came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Deer Creek.
Deer Creek was platted in 1882, and named after the nearby Deer Creek.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Deer Creek
Deer Creek’s post office opened in 1879, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.
1879first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Deer Creek began
When was Deer Creek founded?
1879
The Deer Creek post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 275 in 19002020 census: 330147 years
Founding year: the first Deer Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Deer Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Deer Creek’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deer Creek’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Deer Creek in 1916
Passages that mention Deer Creek, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota1916Read the page →
Read the text
the sum of twenty-five dollars per acre, and after livingon the farm for thirteen years he disposed of his place, receiving for it the sum of seventyfive dollars per acre. During the year I'M,} J. II. Welch retired from his farm and moved to the town of Deer Creek, Minnesota, where he boughl six town lots, on one of which he now lives, having a convenient and desirable home.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota1916 · page 647Read the page →
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OTTER I All. COUNTY, MINNESOTA. 647 Creek township, Minnesota, purchased a farm and followed general agricultural pursuits for the next sixteen years. After this time Mr. Hompe moved to the town of Deer Creek and established a general mercantile busi ness, in which he lias been successfully engaged for more than twenty-three years. In addition to this business, Mr. Hompe also is the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land in Deer Creek township, Minnesota, together with a fine brick building in which he conducts his business.
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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Deer Creek on the map, 1969 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Deer Creek. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Deer Creek sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Deer Creek.
People over time
Deer Creek, census by census
Between 275 and 405 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Deer Creek’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Deer Creek’s post office has been open since 1879.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Deer Creek Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Deer Creeklocale
1cemetery inside Deer Creek
Fairview
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Deer Creek’s history
What year was Deer Creek founded?
The Deer Creek post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.