Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Federal Dam was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1920.
The Federal Dam post office opened in 1910, 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 Federal Dam’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Federal Dam.
A post office called Federal Dam was established in 1910. The city took its name from a nearby dam constructed by the federal government of the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-11 Community Garden
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-10 Sacred Heart Catholic Church
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-09 Dam Cabins
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-08 Dam Cabins
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-07
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-06
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-05 Fire Department
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-04 Our Savior Lutheran Church
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-03 Abes
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-02 -City Hall
2023Federal Dam, Minnesota-01
2000Leech Lake and Dam MinnesotaEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Federal Dam. 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 Federal Dam.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Federal Dam’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 101 and 332 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Federal Dam’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Federal Dam itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Federal Dam’s post office has been open since 1910.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Federal Dam post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 (12), the Library of Congress (2), 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.
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