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History · Emily

Emily’s post office opened in 1900

Most of Emily was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1960.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Emily began

When was Emily founded?

1900

The Emily post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 351 in 19602020 census: 843126 years
Founding year: the first Emily post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Emily’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 Emily are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19133 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1994. Watch Emily change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Emily’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Emily’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
On the map

Emily on the map, 1913 to 1994

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

Emily on the 1913 USGS mapEmily on the 1973 USGS mapEmily on the 1994 USGS map1913Cuyuna 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 Emily.

The story

How Emily came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Emily.

Read it all →

The city of Emily was named for the nearby Emily Lake. It was platted on November 22, 1905. It was incorporated on March 7, 1957. The post office at Emily began in 1900.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Emily, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Voting sign at City of Emily Town Hall on Election day in Minnesota2023Voting sign at City of Emily Town Hall on Election da…Vote Here sign in Emily on Election day in Crow Wing County, Minnesota2023Vote Here sign in Emily on Election day in Crow Wing …Vote Here sign in Emily on Election day in Crow Wing County, Minnesota2023Vote Here sign in Emily on Election day in Crow Wing …Emily, Minnesota-06-sign2023Emily, Minnesota-06-signEmily, Minnesota-04-Post Office2023Emily, Minnesota-04-Post OfficeEmily, Minnesota-03-CIty Park2023Emily, Minnesota-03-CIty ParkEmily, Minnesota-02-CIty Park2023Emily, Minnesota-02-CIty ParkEmily, Minnesota-01-business2023Emily, Minnesota-01-businessWelcome to Emily sign2021Welcome to Emily signMNMap-doton-Emily2005MNMap-doton-Emily
People over time

Emily, census by census

02004006008001960198020002020Peak: 847

Between 351 and 847 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fifty LakesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrooked Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle Pine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Emily’s history

What year was Emily founded?

The Emily post office opened in 1900, 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 (10), 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.