Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Herman

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Herman

Herman’s post office opened in 1872, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Herman began

When was Herman founded?

1872

The Herman post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 184 in 18802020 census: 384154 years
Founding year: the first Herman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Herman’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 Herman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 764 in 1960; 384 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Herman’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Herman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Herman’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

Herman, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 764

Peaked at 764 in 1960; 384 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Herman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Herman.

Read it all →

Herman was platted in 1875, and named for Herman Trott, a railroad official. A post office has been in operation at Herman since 1872.

Herman is known for a 1994 campaign inviting women to meet its 78 bachelors. The story, dubbed "bachelormania", drew worldwide recognition and was adapted into the film Herman U. S. A.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Herman, 1872 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Herman post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Born hereMabel Seeley is born here
  5. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 764
By decade

Herman, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Herman, Minnesota 06-US Post Office2024Herman, Minnesota 06-US Post OfficeHerman, Minnesota 052024Herman, Minnesota 05Herman, Minnesota 042024Herman, Minnesota 04Herman, Minnesota 03-Community Center2024Herman, Minnesota 03-Community CenterHerman, Minnesota 02-Welcome sign2024Herman, Minnesota 02-Welcome signHerman, Minnesota 012024Herman, Minnesota 01
On the map

Herman on the map, 1911 to 1973

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

Herman on the 1911 USGS mapHerman on the 1973 USGS map1911Herman 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 Herman.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

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

Questions about Herman’s history

What year was Herman founded?

The Herman post office opened in 1872, 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 (6), 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.