Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Christian Bunge Jr. Store. Below: maps from 1980 on and the census since 1950.
The Eitzen post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eitzen’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Eitzen.
A post office called Eitzen has been in operation since 1868. A share of the early settlers being natives of Eitzen, Germany, caused the name to be selected.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Eitzen, cut from the printed page as they were published.
taught by Miss Lizzie Williams, now Mrs. Eugene Marshall, of Caledonia. In 1866, a stone schoolhouse was erected in the center of section thirty - two, near Eitzen. The first school in that building was taught by Miss J. C. Jones, now Mrs. E. Stevens, at $18 per month, and was commenced on the 12th of August, 1867. This house was subsequently burned, but was rebuilt and enlarged
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Eitzen is a flourishing village on the state border. Conrad Lauf er had a farm house in 1865 and occasionally kept travelers. In 1867 he opened a saloon and arranged to accommodate, in a more suitable way, his increasing trade. That same year Charles Hilbert, of La Crosse, put in a small stock of general merchandise, but before long he failed and his goods were sold at auction in Caledonia.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
marriage with Elizabeth Linde, daughter of John and Sophia Linde, a young lady whom he had known in Germany and who had come to America alone in 1869. They began domestic life together in Allamakee county, Iowa, just south of the village of Eitzen, Minn., Mr. Schuldt working by the day as a farm hand, which he continued to do for three years after his marriage. In 1873 he made an independent start in life as a farmer in Crooked Creek township, Houston county, buying 120 acres of land, of which all was wild except two acres. There was, however, a frame house
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the old wagon road between Spring Grove and New Albin, which, before the construction of the railroad, was very largely traveled. The name is in honor of Eitzen in Germany, from whence some of the early settlers came. Early Business. — Mr. Conrad Laufer had a farm house in 1865, and occasionally kept travelers. This building now does service as a barn.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eitzen. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Eitzen.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 151 and 279 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Eitzen’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Eitzen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Eitzen post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Christian Bunge Jr. Store (listed 1982).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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