Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mantorville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mantorville is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mantorville’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 Mantorville’s 229 sits above most of its state (99% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1854.
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 Mantorville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Founded in 1854, the city is one of Minnesota's oldest cities.
Mantorville is known as the source of Mantorville limestone, which found its way into buildings across the United States. The limestone quarried in the area was soft and easily carved when first extracted, but became harder as it endured the elements, making it a long-lasting building material. The historic Hubbell House used the stone in 1856, and it was likewise used in 1865 for the Dodge County Courthouse, designed by E. Townsend Mix and Minnesota's oldest working courthouse.
In 1854, according to Wikidata. Mantorville’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1860 counted 280 people here.
How does Mantorville rank for history?
Mantorville is more historic than 68% 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.
What is on the National Register in Mantorville?
Two places: the Mantorville Historic District (listed 1974) and the Mantorville and Red Wing Stage Road-Mantorville Section (1991).
How old are the homes in Mantorville?
13% of Mantorville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1981.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
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