Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Long Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Long Lake is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Long Lake’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 Long Lake’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1855.
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 Long Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers arrived in Long Lake in early spring, 1855. This early contact in Long Lake did not result in settlement but rather this group of Nova Scotians came down Watertown Road, walked to the lake, looked across the lake and settled on the north side of the lake in what is now Orono. The first permanent settlement was established in May 1855 with the arrival of the Flemings and the George Knettles from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. This first settlement was named Cumberland Town and consisted of a saw mill, general store and schoolhouse. The platted area Cumberland Addition can trace its roots to this early period. The Knettle's house became a favorite stop for travelers between 1855 and 1860 and is the location of the first public religious service in the community. The first post office was established in 1856, which was named Tamarack in recognition of the Tamarack swam…
was changed from Tamarack to Long Lake, and, in 1868, the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad established a station at Long Lake, with Pliney I). Putnam as agent. In 1869, May and Syme had a plat of the townsite recorded, being certified to by B. F. Christlieb as sur¬ veyor.
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History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 275Read the page →
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M. Huntsberger was born in Pennsylvania, in 1834. He moved to Hennepin county, in 1865, and settled in Medina. In 1877, started wagon making at Long Lake, having learned the trade at Council Bluffs, Cumberland county, Penn. He worked on the first building in Long Lake.
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In 1866, Mr. Freeman and E. W. Cut¬ ter began the erection of a steam saw mill, on the southwesterly shore of Long Lake, and on the survey of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which was the beginning of Long Lake.
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History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 269Read the page →
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erous Chilson and B. Gasper. In 1862 they were followed by William and Joseph Lydiard, Andrew Ihown, C. Dittman, and others, all settling in or near the present village of Long Lake. Alonzo Coleman was an early settler and prominent in town affairs.
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
Long Lake, 1855 to 1989
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. Long Lake’s post office opened in 1869.
How does Long Lake rank for history?
Long Lake is more historic than 22% 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 Long Lake?
6% of Long Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1970.
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, 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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