–Not graded

History · Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe’s post office opened in 1901, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lincoln County Courthouse and Jail. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1910.

1901first post office

1on the National Register

25%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Ivanhoe began, and where its name came from

When was Ivanhoe founded?

1901

The Ivanhoe post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 484 in 19102020 census: 560125 years

How did Ivanhoe get its name?

Ivanhoe was named for Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe.

Founding year: the first Ivanhoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ivanhoe’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 Ivanhoe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 761 in 1980; 560 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Ivanhoe’s homes were built before 1956.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ivanhoe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ivanhoe’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

Ivanhoe, census by census

Peaked at 761 in 1980; 560 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Ivanhoe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ivanhoe.

Read it all →

Ivanhoe was platted in 1901. It was named for Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe. A post office has been in operation at Ivanhoe since 1901. Ivanhoe was named county seat in 1902. Physician and Minnesota state legislator Richard Mulder (1938–2022) lived in Ivanhoe. Gwen Walz, the wife of 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, grew up in Ivanhoe.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ivanhoe, 1901 to 1980

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

20th century
1901Post officeThe Ivanhoe post office opens
1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1980CensusPopulation peaks at 761

By decade

Ivanhoe, decade by decade

Today2 recent

2011Ivanhoe MN 1

2005MNMap-doton-Ivanhoe

On the map

Ivanhoe on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

1963Arco 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 Ivanhoe.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Ivanhoe

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1980

Lincoln County Courthouse and Jail

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1

Romanesque1

Queen Anne1

All 1 listings

Lincoln County Courthouse and JailBuilding · listed 1980

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ivanhoe

Nobody well known was born in Ivanhoe itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Richard F. KneipAmerican politician · b. 1933

Harold Koch BoysenAmerican flying ace · b. 1891

Les JosephsonAmerican football player · b. 1942

Bill HolmAmerican writer · b. 1943

Carl C. RasmussenClergyman and politician · b. 1901

Milt NielsenAmerican baseball player · b. 1925

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Ivanhoe’s post office has been open since 1901.

Gone or out of use

Ivanhoelocale

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.

Royal TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Ash Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ivanhoe’s history

What year was Ivanhoe founded?

The Ivanhoe post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ivanhoe?

One place: the Lincoln County Courthouse and Jail (listed 1980).

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), 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) 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.

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