The story
Read it all →How Gilbert came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Gilbert.
Gilbert was platted in 1907. A post office has been in operation at Gilbert since 1907.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Gilbert
Gilbert’s post office opened in 1907, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the First National Bank of Gilbert. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1937 on.
1907first post office
1on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Gilbert began
When was Gilbert founded?
1907
The Gilbert post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Weimer (1896), Sparta (1897) and Elcor (1920), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,687119 years
How historic is Gilbert?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Gilbert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gilbert’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gilbert is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gilbert’s overall grade.
Founding era1907, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194038.6% of homes (±5.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 5.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 57%
NewerOlder
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 Gilbert’s 5.9 sits above most of its state (66% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Gilbert’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Gilbert’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gilbert’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Gilbert’s post office has been open since 1907. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Weimer
Sparta
Gilbert
Elcor
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ElcorSparta
Gone or out of use
Elcor Post Officepost officeElcore StationlocaleGenoa MinemineGilbert MinemineSchley MinemineSparta Post Officepost officeSparta-Matta Minemine
1cemetery inside Gilbert
Gilbert
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Gilbert, 1896 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1896Post officeThe Weimer post office opens
- 1897Post officeThe Weimer post office closes
- 1897Post officeThe Sparta post office opens
- 1899Born hereTreg Brown is born here
- 20th century
- 1907Post officeThe Gilbert post office opens
- 1916Born hereLou Barle is born here
- 1919Post officeThe Sparta post office closes
- 1920
BuiltFirst National Bank of Gilbert is built - 1937
In the archiveAbandoned miners' houses at Gilbert, Minnesota - 1940Born hereBernie Kukar is born here
By decade
Gilbert, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s3 items
1937
19371940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2015
2008Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewAbandoned miners' houses at Gilbert, Minnesota, 1937
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gilbert’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Gilbert
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
First National Bank of Gilbert
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Classical Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Gilbert
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Gilbert’s history
What year was Gilbert founded?
The Gilbert post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gilbert rank for history?
Gilbert is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. 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 Gilbert?
One place: the First National Bank of Gilbert (listed 2012).
How old are the homes in Gilbert?
39% of Gilbert’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1954.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.