Hanover’s post office opened in 1877, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #171 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Hanover was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the Hanover Bridge. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Hanover post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hanover’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hanover is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #171 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hanover’s overall grade.
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 Hanover’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (56% 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 C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Hanover’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hanover was founded by Jacob Vollbrecht, who settled in the area due to the fertile soil, large water bodies, and forests. Vollbrecht first settled in the area in 1856. More German-Americans would arrive following the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862.
Hanover was laid out in 1877 and named after the German city of Hanover. A post office has been in operation at Hanover since 1877. Hanover was incorporated on August 29, 1891. One property in Hanover, the 1885 Hanover Bridge, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Hanover, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 723Read the page →
Read the text
Hanover is a thriving village with walks, electric lights, water power, graded streets and an energetic progressive set of business men. The only thing lacking here of any kind is the steam cars, but without these Hanover is far in advance of hundreds of her sister cities more fortunate in this respect. Many lines of business
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 724Read the page →
Read the text
Hanover is located on the Crow river, seven miles from Albertville (St. Michael Station), its shipping point. It has Lutheran and Methodist churches, a bank, a creamery and a flour mil A daily stage operates between here and Albertville and Rockford.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1893 he came to Hanover as manager of the cheese factory. In 1895 when the cheese factory was converted into a creamery, Emil Strunk became the manager and Mr. Holzman became the butter-maker, a position he occupied for seven years. In 1903, when the creamery was piu'chased by the former and became the Hanover Co-Operative Creamery Association, Mr. Holzman was retained as butter-maker, a position he still holds. For fourteen years he has been assessor of Hanover village, and he has
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Hanover post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hanover rank for history?
Hanover is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #171 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Hanover?
One place: the Hanover Bridge (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Hanover?
3% of Hanover’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2003.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2015
2008
