Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lakefield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C+History
History · Lakefield

Lakefield’s post office opened in 1880, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1880first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lakefield began, and where its name came from

When was Lakefield founded?

1880

The Lakefield post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,735146 years

How did Lakefield get its name?

Lakefield was named for its location near Heron Lake.

How historic is Lakefield?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Lakefield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lakefield is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lakefield’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.0% of homes (±5.3) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 42%
NewerOlder

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 Lakefield’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.

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 (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Lakefield’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 Lakefield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lakefield’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lakefield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lakefield’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 Lakefield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lakefield.

Read it all →

Lakefield was laid out in 1879, when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for its location near Heron Lake. A post office has been in operation at Lakefield since 1880. The city was incorporated in 1887.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lakefield, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Lakefield, Minnesota 052017Lakefield, Minnesota 05Lakefield, Minnesota 042017Lakefield, Minnesota 04Lakefield, Minnesota 032017Lakefield, Minnesota 03Lakefield, Minnesota 022017Lakefield, Minnesota 02Lakefield, Minnesota 012017Lakefield, Minnesota 01
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Lakefield’s post office has been open since 1880.

Gone or out of use
Lakefieldlocale

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.

Heron Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHunter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lakefield’s history

What year was Lakefield founded?

The Lakefield post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lakefield rank for history?

Lakefield is more historic than 42% 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.

How old are the homes in Lakefield?

23% of Lakefield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (5), 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.