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C−History
History · Lake Elmo

Lake Elmo dates to 1852

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #228 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Lake Elmo was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 1930.

1852founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Gabriel Vanslette · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Lake Elmo began

When was Lake Elmo founded?

1852

Lake Elmo dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 218 in 19302020 census: 11,335174 years

How historic is Lake Elmo?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Elmo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Elmo is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #228 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Elmo’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.9) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 17%

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 Lake Elmo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1852.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

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 Lake Elmo’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 Lake Elmo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Elmo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Elmo’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
The story

How Lake Elmo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Elmo.

Read it all →

The city took its name from nearby Lake Elmo. Lake Elmo began with one farm in 1852 on the southwest corner of the intersection of what is now Manning Avenue and 30th Street, just southeast of downtown Lake Elmo and across the highway from the Lake Elmo Airport (FAA LID: 21D). The barn was built in 1875 and restored as a house in 1998. The 1852 farmhouse was intentionally burned down in 2007.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lake Elmo in 1881

Passages that mention Lake Elmo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The only village in the town is Lake Elmo. In 1874, a tract of one hundred acres was platted by the railroad company at the head of the lake, where the station and warehouse stands, and called Bass Lake, since changed to Lake Elmo.
History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley1881 · page 447Read the page →
Read the text

The only village in the town is Lake Elmo. In 1874, a tract of one hundred acres was platted by the railroad company at the head of the lake, where the station and warehouse stands, and called Bass Lake, since changed to Lake Elmo.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The only village in the town is Lake Elmo. In 1874, a tract of one hundred acres was platted by the railroad company at the head of the lake, where the station and warehouse stands, and called Bass Lake, since changed to Lake Elmo.
History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 447Read the page →
Read the text

The only village in the town is Lake Elmo. In 1874, a tract of one hundred acres was platted by the railroad company at the head of the lake, where the station and warehouse stands, and called Bass Lake, since changed to Lake Elmo.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
St. Paul, Stillwater, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Stillwater, Lake Elmo,
History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley1881 · page 619Read the page →
Read the text

St. Paul, Stillwater, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Lake Elmo, Stillwater, Lake Elmo,

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

Lake Elmo, 1852 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingLake Elmo is established
  3. 1866Post officeThe Lohmansville post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Lohmansville post office closes
  5. 1879Post officeThe Lake Elmo post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1989Born hereBrian Arnfelt is born here
By decade

Lake Elmo, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Ready 4 Mean Tweets handpainted sign in2024Ready 4 Mean Tweets handpainted sign inAre U Fed Up Yet handpainted sign with Trump Vance sign in2024Are U Fed Up Yet handpainted sign with Trump Vance si…Are U Fed Up Yet handpainted sign in2024Are U Fed Up Yet handpainted sign inLake Elmo, MN2013Lake Elmo, MNInt94wRoadSign-MM2502012Int94wRoadSign-MM250MNMap-doton-Lake Elmo2005MNMap-doton-Lake Elmo
On the map

Lake Elmo on the map, 1946 to 1993

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

Lake Elmo on the 1946 USGS mapLake Elmo on the 1993 USGS map1946Hudson sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Elmo.

Every building

Lake Elmo, building by building, 1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Lake Elmo fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Lake Elmo, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001940196019802000202011,335

Grew from 218 people in 1930 to 11,335 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Lake Elmo’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Lohmansville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lohmansville
1866–1879
Lake Elmo
1879–today
18601940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Elmo
ChristSaint John's Lutheran

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.

OakdaleIts storyC−Stillwater Township5 historic placesBWest Lakeland TownshipIts storyDWoodbury1 historic placeCBaytown TownshipIts storyDGrantIts storyC−Pine SpringsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOak Park Heights3 historic placesB−

Questions about Lake Elmo’s history

What year was Lake Elmo founded?

In 1852, according to Wikidata. Lake Elmo’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1930 counted 218 people here.

How does Lake Elmo rank for history?

Lake Elmo is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #228 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.

How old are the homes in Lake Elmo?

3% of Lake Elmo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2004.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.