Edina dates to 1888, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #62 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Edina was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 425 buildings. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Edina’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edina is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #62 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edina’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 Edina’s 104 sits above most of its state (97% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 555 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1888.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Edina’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Edina began as part of Richfield Township, Minnesota. By the 1870s, 17 families, most of them immigrating as a result of the Great Famine of Ireland, had come to Minnesota and claimed land in the southwest section of what was then Richfield Township. They were followed by settlers from New England and Germany, who claimed additional land near Minnehaha Creek. The Baird and Grimes neighborhoods (both listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and the Country Club District (then known as Waterville Mills) in northeastern Edina were among the first areas to be established. The area then known as the Cahill Settlement, at West 70th Street and Cahill Road, was also an early community center and the home of Cahill School.
the town, namely, J. A. Dunsmore, and J. N. Richardson; John Craik, in the northwest part, now village of Edina, and Alexander Shultz, in the southeast part. Now come the names of those who, being residents of Richfield, were for¬ tunate enough, or unfortunate, as the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
limits of Minneapolis, on the east by the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, on the South by Bloomington, and on the west by the village of Edina, which was formerly a part of the town, containing about seventeen and one-half square miles, and about twenty square miles, including the
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.
Timeline
Edina, 1886 to 2001
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1888, according to Wikidata. Edina’s post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1890 counted 531 people here.
How does Edina rank for history?
Edina is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #62 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.
What is on the National Register in Edina?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Cahill School (listed 1970, the first), 1 historic district, the Country Club Historic District, with 425 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 555 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Edina?
8% of Edina’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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), 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.
