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–Not graded
History · Gilman

Gilman’s post office opened in 1885, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic. Its Register listing is the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1960.

1885first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gilman began

When was Gilman founded?

1885

The Gilman post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 146 in 19602020 census: 226141 years
Founding year: the first Gilman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gilman’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 Gilman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Gilman’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gilman’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
The story so far

Gilman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gilman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gilman is a city in Benton County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Gilman had a population of 226. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1885. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 224 in 2010, 226 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Gilman on the map, 1968 to 1991

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

Gilman on the 1968 USGS mapGilman on the 1985 USGS mapGilman on the 1991 USGS map1968Foley sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gilman.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Gilman

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts1
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-CatholicBeaux Arts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Gilman, census by census

01002001960198020002020Peak: 226

Between 111 and 226 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gilman’s post office has been open since 1885.

Gone or out of use
Gilman Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Gilman
Saint Peter and Paul Parish

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Alberta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGilmanton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gilman’s history

What year was Gilman founded?

The Gilman post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gilman?

One place: the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul-Catholic (listed 1982).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.