The story
Read it all →How Mapleton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Mapleton.
Mapleton was platted at its current site in 1871 when the railroad was extended to that point.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Mapleton
Mapleton’s post office opened in 1857, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1890 on and old-book passages.
1857first post office
3on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Quick answers
How Mapleton began
When was Mapleton founded?
1857
The Mapleton post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Maple River (1867) and Mapleton Station (1874), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,710169 years
How historic is Mapleton?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mapleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mapleton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mapleton is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mapleton’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194036.7% of homes (±7.0) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 40.5 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
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 Mapleton’s 40.5 sits above most of its state (92% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 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 Mapleton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Mapleton’s post office has been open since 1857. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mapleton
Maple River
Mapleton Station
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Boening Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mapleton
CalvaryUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the old history books
What they wrote about Mapleton in 1901
Passages that mention Mapleton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Blue Earth County and biographies of its leading citizens1901 · page 103Read the page →
Read the text
except south tier of sections, was separated from Jamestown and organized into a town by itself, under the name of Lake. On the same date the town of Mapleton was severed from the town of Sherman and made an independent town, under the name of "Sterling," and the name of the town of Sherman on petition changed to "Mapleton." On the same date, also, it
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Blue Earth County and biographies of its leading citizens1901 · page 235Read the page →
Read the text
July 9, 1856, the town was set off with the present towns of Mapleton, and Sterling as one voting precinct under the name of Mapleton. When on April 6, 1858, the County Commissioners undertook to name every township in the county; Danville was called "Jackson''" and the present ''Mapleton" called "Sherman." The latter name was probably in honor of either
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
Mapleton, 1857 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1857Post officeThe Mapleton post office opens
- 1867Post officeThe Maple River post office opens
- 1872Post officeThe Maple River post office closes
- 1874Post officeThe Mapleton Station post office opens
- 1888Post officeThe Mapleton Station post office closes
- 1889Born hereDavid M. Carey is born here
- 1890
In the archiveGrandfather and Grandmother Troendle with friends, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - 4955f3b64… - 1897
BuiltLucas Troendle House is built - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveFritz Gerth residence, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - 904c3243c3076096f0a3e100f8ffef44 - 1910
BuiltMapleton Public Library is built
By decade
Mapleton, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s–1900s5 items
c. 1890Grandfather and Grandmother Troendle with friends, Ma…
c. 1890Lucas Troendle home, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - 300…
c. 1896People on porch, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - e5b40fa…
c. 1896Women and children on a lawn, Mapleton, Minnesota - D…c. 1900Fritz Gerth residence, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - 9…1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumThen & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewGrandfather and Grandmother Troendle with friends, Mapleton, Minnesota - DPLA - 4955f3b64bb354760308e876fb4d4d33, c. 1890
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mapleton’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
3 historic places in Mapleton
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Lucas Troendle House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne2
Classical Revival1
All 3 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Finish Mapleton’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Mapleton’s history
What year was Mapleton founded?
The Mapleton post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mapleton rank for history?
Mapleton is more historic than 82% 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 Mapleton?
Three places: the Lucas Troendle House (listed 1980), the Mapleton Public Library (2009) and the Main Street Commercial Buildings (1980).
How old are the homes in Mapleton?
37% of Mapleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1955.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.