On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medicine Lake is more historic than 37% 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 Medicine 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 Medicine 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1887.
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 (±8.4 points).
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 Medicine Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Medicine Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Minneapolis sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Medicine Lake.
"Medicine Lake Park" was developed as part of Plymouth, Minnesota by Jacob Barge around 1887. He sold lots to "city folks" to build cabins to get away from the "hustle and bustle" of city life. The City of Medicine Lake became an independent municipality in 1944. That year, residents voted to separate from Plymouth, Minnesota, even though Plymouth surrounds the city geographically. The move toward separation was spearheaded by Mr. Les Johantgen, Mr. Charles Brudigan and Mr. Ernest Ertl, among others. Residents held a meeting on April 14, 1944, to discuss separation from Plymouth. The first referendum on this separation was duly recorded on April 24 of the same year.
Medicine Lake, Parker’s and Bass are principal lakes of the town of Plymouth. The former is a very beautiful and much visited water. It is about two miles in length by threequarters of a mile in width. Its banks are wooded, and from it flows the stream that waters Golden Valley.
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.
In 1887, according to Wikidata. the census of 1950 counted 284 people here.
How does Medicine Lake rank for history?
Medicine Lake is more historic than 37% 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 Medicine Lake?
18% of Medicine Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1966.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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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