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History · Nashwauk

Nashwauk’s post office opened in 1902, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Nashwauk began

When was Nashwauk founded?

1902

The Nashwauk post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,080 in 19102020 census: 970124 years
Founding year: the first Nashwauk post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Nashwauk’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Nashwauk are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,555 in 1930; 970 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Nashwauk’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nashwauk’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nashwauk’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Nashwauk, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,555

Peaked at 2,555 in 1930; 970 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nashwauk’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Nashwauk, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Nashwauk yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Nashwauk ( NASH-wawk) is a town in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 970 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 169 and Minnesota State Highway 65 are two of the main routes in Nashwauk.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 983 in 2010, 970 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Nashwauk, 1913 to 1952

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913Born hereRobert R. Gilruth is born here
  3. 1921Born hereAdeline Daley is born here
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,555
  5. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Nashwauk on the map, 1952 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nashwauk. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Nashwauk on the 1952 USGS mapNashwauk on the 1969 USGS map1952Nashwauk sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nashwauk.

Every building

Nashwauk, building by building, 1909–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Nashwauk fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 21909Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Nashwauk

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert R. GilruthAmerican aerospace engineer · b. 1913
A
Adeline DaleyAmerican sportswriter and humor columnist · b. 1921
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Nashwauk TownshipIts storyCKeewatinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLone Pine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenway Township2 historic placesA−Hibbing11 historic placesA−

Questions about Nashwauk’s history

What year was Nashwauk founded?

The Nashwauk post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.