Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Donaldson

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Donaldson

Donaldson’s post office opened in 1884, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

1884first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Donaldson began

When was Donaldson founded?

1884

The Donaldson post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Davis (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 20142 years
Founding year: the first Donaldson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Donaldson’s 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 Donaldson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Donaldson’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Donaldson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Donaldson’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
The story

How Donaldson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Donaldson.

Read it all →

A post office called Donaldson has been in operation since 1884. The city was named for Captain Hugh Donaldson, a local farmer.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Donaldson, 1883 to 1884

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Davis post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Davis post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Donaldson post office opens
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Donaldson

Nobody well known was born in Donaldson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
D
Donald PedersonAmerican professor of electrical engineering · b. 1925
Kristen DexterAmerican politician · b. 1961
F
Frank BrosseauBaseball player · b. 1944
T
Tim JohnsonAmerican male curler · b. 1953
Truman SpangrudRetired lieutenant general in the United States… · b. 1934
C
Clifford W. BouvetteAmerican politician – Minnesota -House 1937-38 … · b. 1897
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Donaldson’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Davis, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Davis
1883–1884
Donaldson
1884–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Donaldson’s history

What year was Donaldson founded?

The Donaldson post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.