Minnetrista’s post office opened in 1860, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #101 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Minnetrista was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1860.
Founding year: the first Minnetrista post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Minnetrista’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Minnetrista is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #101 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Minnetrista’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 Minnetrista’s 16.1 sits above most of its state (81% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Minnetrista’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Minnetrista’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Minnetrista on the map, 1905 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Minnetrista. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Minnetonka 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 Minnetrista.
The story so far
Minnetrista, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Minnetrista yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Minnetrista is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located about 23 miles (37 km) west of Minneapolis, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The largely rural Minnetrista has agricultural activity involving corn, soybeans, hay, and horses. In addition to farmland and woods, the city contains several lakes, including part of Lake Minnetonka, the state's ninth-largest. The city's population was 8,262 at the 2020 census. Minnetrista's name originates in the Dakota language, in which minne means "water" and trista means "crooked".
Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,384 to 8,262 (+29%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Minnetrista, 1881–1895
Passages that mention Minnetrista, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Bu Hon. B, F. ChristUeb, In its first settlement, two currents of immigration flowed into the town of Minnetrista, independent of each other, namely: (1) The Germans came into the southwestern part of the town from points on the Minnesota River, and (2) the English speaking people
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
David Swain and - Peasle}" are names of early settlers who claimed lands in Orono adjoining the line of the town of Minnetrista. John Carman, of Mahoning Count}", Ohio, who settled, as before stated, on what is now Spring Park, in 1853, was iTistrumental in having a number of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 261Read the page →
Read the text
The first post-office in the town was established in lSo6, and named St. Bonifacius, John Merz appointed postmaster. It was moved one mile north of the village in 1873. Minnetrista postoffice was established in 1861, on section 6, and Norman Shook appointed postmaster. A postoffice was established in 1876 at ;Mound City, and a Mr. Pearl ajipointed postmaster.
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
Minnetrista, 1860 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Minnetrista post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Minnetrista rank for history?
Minnetrista is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #101 of 273 in Minnesota. 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 Minnetrista?
Two places: the Crane Island Historic District (listed 1991) and the Schmid Farmhouse Ruin (2015).
How old are the homes in Minnetrista?
7% of Minnetrista’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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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