La Crescent dates to 1851, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #133 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of La Crescent was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Daniel Cameron House. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Crescent’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Crescent is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #133 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Crescent’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 La Crescent’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (53% 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1851.
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 La Crescent’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lying on the west bank of the Mississippi River, the city is surrounded by bluffs with views of the river and abundant wildlife. Humans have inhabited this area for thousands of years. The most recent inhabitants before the arrival of white settlers were the Dakota people, a branch of the Sioux, and the Ho-Chunk, or Winnebago.
Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel Boone, was among the early surveyors of this area. The various Indian tribes who had lived here were forced out and relocated in the 1840s to accommodate white settlement.
Passages that mention La Crescent, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota1882 · page 290Read the page →
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was finally commenced in earnest by a new company, in 1865, several miles of the old grade (now occupied by the line of the river road) was abandoned, and the village of La Crescent was left far to one side. Some bridges were also constructed at the time of first grading the road (1857), over Thompson's Creek at Hokah, and a trestle over the slough east of La Crescent. The original in-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Houston County, Minnesota1919 · page 772Read the page →
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The La Crescent Banner. When the village of La Crescent was enjoying the highest tide of prosperity, a newspaper was started called the "La Crescent Banner," the publisher of which was A. P. Swineford. The paper, a six-column folio, was issued from a small press in a not very well furnished office in the old double store of the Kentucky Company. It flourished but for a short time, however, the whole concern being soon removed to La Crosse.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota1882 · page 424Read the page →
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held on the 30th of March, 1864, the following resolution was presented by G. F. Potter: "Resolved: That the Supervisors and the Town Clerk of La Crescent be, and they are hereby instructed and required to issue township orders to the amount of $200 for each volunteer who shall be duly accredited to the township of La Crescent, to and for a sufficient number of volunteers to fill
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History of Houston County, Minnesota1919 · page 160Read the page →
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other communities, voted bounties to volunteer soldiers, a meeting being held March 30, 1864, at which the following resolution was presented by G. F. Potter: "Resolved : That the supervisors and the town clerk of La Crescent be, and they are hereby instructed and required to issue township orders to the amount of $200 for each volunteer who shall be duly accredited to the township of La Crescent, to and for a sufficient number of volunteers to fill the quota of said town, on the present and all future calls that may be made
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
La Crescent, 1851 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1851, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. La Crescent’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 380 people here.
How does La Crescent rank for history?
La Crescent is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #133 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 La Crescent?
One place: the Daniel Cameron House (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in La Crescent?
8% of La Crescent’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), 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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