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History · Doran

Doran’s post office opened in 1892, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Doran began

When was Doran founded?

1892

The Doran post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 93 in 19102020 census: 36134 years
Founding year: the first Doran post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Doran’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 Doran are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 137 in 1930; 36 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Doran’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Doran’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

Doran, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 137

Peaked at 137 in 1930; 36 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Doran came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Doran.

Read it all →

A post office called Doran was established in 1892, and remained in operation until 1989. The city was named for Michael Doran, a state legislator.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Doran, 1892 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Doran post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 137
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1989Post officeThe Doran post office closes
By decade

Doran, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Doran, Minnesota-01 Doran Park2024Doran, Minnesota-01 Doran ParkDoran, Minnesota 052024Doran, Minnesota 05Doran, Minnesota 042024Doran, Minnesota 04Doran, Minnesota 032024Doran, Minnesota 03Doran, Minnesota 02-Street sign2024Doran, Minnesota 02-Street sign
On the map

Doran on the map, 1951 to 1981

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

Doran on the 1951 USGS mapDoran on the 1981 USGS map1951Campbell 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 Doran.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Doran had its own post office from 1892 to 1989.

Doran
1892–1989
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Doran Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Doran’s history

What year was Doran founded?

The Doran post office opened in 1892, 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.