Monticello dates to 1854, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #144 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Monticello was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Its Register listings are the Nicherson-Tarbox House, Shed and Barn and the Rufus Rand Summer House and Carriage Barn. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monticello’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monticello is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #144 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monticello’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 Monticello’s 2.0 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1854.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Monticello’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Monticello was platted in 1854. A post office has been in operation at Monticello since 1855. Monticello was incorporated in 1856. The nearby village of Moritzious merged with Monticello in 1891.
In May 2006, the Monticello Middle School had an electrical fire from the large amount of rain settling on the roof. The smoke damage to the school caused the school to be closed for the rest of the school year. As a result, middle school and high school students had to share usage of the high school building on an alternate-day schedule. The school year did not get extended, and the clean-up was completed in time for the 2006–07 school year. [1] [2]
Passages that mention Monticello, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 779Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Monticello was incorporated in 1856. Monticelle Lower Town was incorporated in 1857. Moritzious was ineorporated in 1858, The present village of Monticello was incorporated by special act of the legislature, March 9, 1875, and John R. Longfellow, Charles W. Clarey and Daniel Dearborn were appointed inspectors of election. The limits as described in the act were as follows: ‘‘South half of northwest quarter, northeast quarter of southwest quarter, northwest quarter of northwest quarter, lots
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 566Read the page →
Read the text
Margaret Cooley opened the first school the first Monday in November of that year, While this was the first regular schoolhouse erected in Wright county, there is some question as to whether school was not held in Monticello a few months before Miss Cooley opened the Monticello school. The first school in Monticello, and probably the first in the county, was tanght by Maggie Brooks in 1855. A schoolhouse was built in 1856. In 1857 the ‘‘Academy’’ was built. It was
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
Monticello, 1854 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Monticello’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 290 people here.
How does Monticello rank for history?
Monticello is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #144 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 Monticello?
Two places: the Nicherson-Tarbox House, Shed and Barn (listed 1979) and the Rufus Rand Summer House and Carriage Barn (1979).
How old are the homes in Monticello?
5% of Monticello’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (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), 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.
2012
2011
2010
2008
2008
