New Brighton’s post office opened in 1889, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #137 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of New Brighton was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Foss House. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1890.
The New Brighton post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891. Another post office, Irondale (1892), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 355 in 18902020 census: 23,454137 years
How historic is New Brighton?
C+
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first New Brighton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Brighton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Brighton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #137 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 New Brighton’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 New Brighton’s 2.2 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1891 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 New Brighton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the mid 18th century, Mdewakanton Dakota tribes lived in the vicinity of New Brighton's marshy lakes, harvesting wild rice. The Dakota eventually settled a village near Long Lake at Rice Creek and a smaller encampment just east of Silver Lake Road on 3rd Street NW. Immigrants from Britain and France settled a small village in 1858 that included a general store, a school, and a mission church. As railroads were established in the area, millers in Minneapolis formed the Minneapolis Stockyards and Packing Company in 1888. The company supplied home, agriculture, and business needs. The venture included Minneapolis figures such as streetcar magnate Thomas Lowry, flour millers John Sargent Pillsbury, Senator William D. Washburn, ex-Minneapolis Mayor W.H. Eustis, and industrialist W.H. Dunwoody. As the village grew in prominence, it was incorporated on January 20, 1891. The city was given t…
The New Brighton post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
How does New Brighton rank for history?
New Brighton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #137 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 New Brighton?
One place: the Foss House (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in New Brighton?
5% of New Brighton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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