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–Not graded
History · Hardwick

Hardwick’s post office opened in 1891, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michel Curi · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Hardwick began

When was Hardwick founded?

1891

The Hardwick post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 259 in 19002020 census: 189135 years
Founding year: the first Hardwick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hardwick’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 Hardwick are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 328 in 1960; 189 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Hardwick’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hardwick’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hardwick’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

Hardwick, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 328

Peaked at 328 in 1960; 189 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Hardwick, in brief

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

Hardwick is a city in Rock County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 189 as of the 2020 census. Hardwick was platted in 1892, and named after J. L. Hardwick, a railroad official. A post office has been in operation at Hardwick since 1891. Hardwick was incorporated in 1898.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 198 to 189 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Hardwick, 1891 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Hardwick post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 328
  5. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hardwick, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Prairie grasses and sky in2017Prairie grasses and sky inPrairie and sky in2017Prairie and sky in
On the map

Hardwick on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Hardwick on the 1967 USGS mapHardwick on the 1985 USGS map1967Edgerton South 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 Hardwick.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Hardwick’s post office has been open since 1891.

Gone or out of use
Hardwicklocale

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.

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

Questions about Hardwick’s history

What year was Hardwick founded?

The Hardwick post office opened in 1891, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.