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History · Kerkhoven

Kerkhoven’s post office opened in 1871, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

1871first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Kerkhoven began

When was Kerkhoven founded?

1871

The Kerkhoven post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 805155 years
Founding year: the first Kerkhoven post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Kerkhoven’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 Kerkhoven are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Kerkhoven’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kerkhoven’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Kerkhoven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kerkhoven.

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Kerkhoven was platted in 1870, and named for a railroad promoter. A post office has been in operation at Kerkhoven since 1871. Kerkhoven was incorporated in 1881.

The city name is Dutch meaning church cemeteries. It is from the persons who purchased bonds (Kerkhoven and Co. of Holland in 1864) of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (later the Great Northern etc.). The family name originally was van Kerckhoven (van=from, kerk=church and hoven=gardens or yards). They were financial persons purchasing interest-bearing bonds, but not active promoters of the fledgling prairie railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Kerkhoven, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Kerkhoven, Minnesota-032024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-03Kerkhoven, Minnesota-022024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-02Kerkhoven, Minnesota-012024Kerkhoven, Minnesota-0175 Dodge Dart Swinger201175 Dodge Dart SwingerThe Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Marching Saints2009The Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Marching SaintsMNMap-doton-Kerkhoven2005MNMap-doton-Kerkhoven
Famous people

Famous people close to Kerkhoven

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

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Mark KennedyAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1957
E
Edgar DaleLearning pyramid by Edgar Dale · b. 1900
L
Lyn Yvonne AbramsonAmerican psychologist · b. 1950
S
Seth HinrichsAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
W
William A. MitchellAmerican food chemist · b. 1911
Rick SwensonAmerican musher · b. 1950

Questions about Kerkhoven’s history

What year was Kerkhoven founded?

The Kerkhoven post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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, 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.