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History · Gonvick

Gonvick’s post office opened in 1900, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1920.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gonvick began

When was Gonvick founded?

1900

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

First census: 276 in 19202020 census: 263126 years
Founding year: the first Gonvick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gonvick’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 Gonvick are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 375 in 1950; 263 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1985. Watch Gonvick change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gonvick’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gonvick’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
People over time

Gonvick, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 375

Peaked at 375 in 1950; 263 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Gonvick on the map, 1919 to 1985

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

Gonvick on the 1919 USGS mapGonvick on the 1969 USGS mapGonvick on the 1985 USGS map1919Fosston 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 Gonvick.

The story

How Gonvick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gonvick.

Read it all →

A post office called Gonvick has been in operation since 1900. The city was named for Martin O. Gonvick, a pioneer settler and native of Norway.

The children in this area attend Clearbrook-Gonvick School, which is located in Clearbrook, which is approximately a five—minute

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gonvick, 1900 to 1950

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Gonvick post office opens
  3. 1910Born hereEd Widseth is born here
  4. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1920Born hereArnie Johnson is born here
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 375
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.
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Famous people

2 famous people were born in Gonvick

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Arnie JohnsonNational Basketball League player · b. 1920
E
Ed WidsethAmerican football player · b. 1910
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Gonvick’s post office has been open since 1900.

Hamlets and corners on the map
City Trailer Park Number OneGreen Acres Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Gonvicklocale
1cemetery inside Gonvick
Samhold Lutheran Church

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

Questions about Gonvick’s history

What year was Gonvick founded?

The Gonvick 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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.