Hibbing’s post office opened in 1893, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #23 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 34 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1900.
The Hibbing post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Seven smaller post offices, Powers (1900), Stevenson (1902) and Northland (1910), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,481 in 19002020 census: 16,214133 years
How historic is Hibbing?
A−
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hibbing post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hibbing’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hibbing is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #23 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hibbing’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 Hibbing’s 28.6 sits above most of its state (89% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). 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 Hibbing’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Hibbing’s post office has been open since 1893. Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hibbing
1893–today
Powers
1900–1909
Stevenson
1902–1950
Kelly Lake
1907–today
Northland
1910–1922
Wilpin
1910–1942
Kitzville
1913–1916
Little Swan
1914–1932
Redore
1917–1967
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Birch Lane Mobile Home ParkBrooklynCountry Estates Mobile Home ParkDunwoody JunctionKelly LakeKerrKitzvilleLaviniaLeetoniaLittle SwanMahoningMitchellOlson's Mobile Home ParkOnegaRedoreRileyRuby JunctionScrantonStevensonWilpen
Gone or out of use
Agnew ShaftmineAlbany MinemineBurt-Sellers MinemineCarmi-Carson Lake MinemineCyprus MinemineKerr MinemineKitzville Post Officepost officeLamberton MinemineLittle Swan Post Officepost officeLongyear MinemineMace Number One MinemineMahoning MinemineMahoning MinemineMahoning-Hull-Rust MinemineMorris MinemineMorton MinemineNorthland Post Officepost officePierce Minemine
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hibbing
Grandview Memorial GardenHibbing ParkLittle SwanMaple HillNorth Hibbing
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
11 listings protect 46 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
The town was founded in 1893 by Frank Hibbing, born in Walsrode, Germany, on December 1, 1856, and christened Franz Dietrich von Ahlen. His mother died when he was still in infancy and he took her name, Hibbing, when he sought his fortune in the New World. He first settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where he worked on a farm and in a shingle mill. Injured in a mill accident, he considered becoming a lawyer, but after deciding he was not familiar enough with the English language to make a legal career possible, he turned to timber cruising.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Hibbing post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hibbing rank for history?
Hibbing is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Hibbing?
11 listings: 8 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Hibbing Disposal Plant and the East Howard Street Commercial Historic District, with 34 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 46 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hibbing?
27% of Hibbing’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1956.
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), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
★ Landmark
1850
1902
1906
1906
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