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History · Lutsen Township

Lutsen Township’s post office opened in 1890

Most of Lutsen Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Kablammo at en.wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Lutsen Township began

When was Lutsen Township founded?

1890

The Lutsen Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 537136 years
Founding year: the first Lutsen Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lutsen Township’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 Lutsen Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lutsen Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lutsen Township’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 so far

Lutsen Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lutsen Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lutsen ( LOOT-sən) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lutsen Township, Cook County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 220. Lutsen is located within the Superior National Forest, on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is 18 miles southwest of the city of Grand Marais; and 65 miles northeast of the city of Two Harbors. Cascade River State Park and the Superior Hiking Trail are both nearby. Minnesota Highway 61, formerly part of U.S. Route 61, is the main arterial route in the community. It runs along Lake Superior between Duluth and Grand Portage to the Canadian border.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 415 to 537 (+29%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Lutsen Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Lutsen Mountains Ski Hill, Minnesota in Winter2019Lutsen Mountains Ski Hill, Minnesota in WinterLutsen Hill2016Lutsen HillLutsen2007LutsenLockportMarket2007LockportMarketCaribou Lake22007Caribou Lake2Lutsen Mountains2001Lutsen Mountains
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
LutsenLutsen Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Lutsen Township
Lutsen

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.

Tofte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lutsen Township’s history

What year was Lutsen Township founded?

The Lutsen Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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), 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.