Most of Howard Lake was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Howard Lake City Hall. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Howard Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Howard Lake is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. 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 Howard Lake’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 Howard Lake’s 5.5 sits near the middle of its state (64% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). Two sources give 1855.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Howard Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was first settled by the Dakota, then, in 1855, by Morgan V. Cochran, who sold his land to Charles Goodsell in 1863. Howard Lake developed as a railroad station.
Howard Lake was platted in 1869, and named after nearby Howard Lake. A post office was established under the name Howard in 1870; the post office was renamed Howard Lake in 1892 and remains in operation. One property in Howard Lake, the 1904 Howard Lake City Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Howard Lake, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 766Read the page →
Read the text
Early in the spring of 1856, Irvin Shrewsbury, from Independence, Hennepin county, and Abraham Adams, a surveyor from Shakopee, also in this state, made claims on the south side of the lake near the present village of Howard Lake, partly laid out a townsite, and named the lake. The first actual settler was George Reinmuth. Reinmuth was born in Germany, settled in Pittsburg, in 1852, came to St. Paul early in 1856, and on May 7, of the same spring, made a claim in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 641Read the page →
Read the text
Howard Lake postoffice was established as Middleville postoffice in 1860. A. E, Cochran, the postmaster, kept the office at his home on section 2. In 1865 he sold the farm to Joseph Pearson, who also succeeded him in office, In January, 1870, the office was moved to Howard Lake, the name changed to conform to that of the village, and J. F. Pearson appointed postmaster. In 1877 he was succeeded by W. L. McCollum, and after him the postmasters took office as follows: Mark Fosket, 1885; H. M. Dickey,
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.
Timeline
Howard Lake, 1855 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. Howard Lake’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 477 people here.
How does Howard Lake rank for history?
Howard Lake is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. 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 Howard Lake?
One place: the Howard Lake City Hall (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Howard Lake?
3% of Howard Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (3), 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.
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