Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to New Germany

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · New Germany

New Germany’s post office opened in 1902, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

1902first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How New Germany began

When was New Germany founded?

1902

The New Germany post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Purity (1886) and Motordale (1918), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 464124 years
Founding year: the first New Germany post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about New Germany’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 New Germany are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s New Germany.Old housesHalf of New Germany’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Germany’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Germany’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

New Germany’s post office has been open since 1902. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Purity
1886–1902
New Germany
1902–today
Motordale
1918–1921
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How New Germany came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Germany.

Read it all →

New Germany was established in the 1880s around the Great Northern Railroad depot. Its first post office, however, was moved onto the area from a different site and kept the original name of Purity. The post office name was not changed to match the railroad and community name until 1902. New Germany incorporated as a village in 1901 in Camden Township and separated as a city under Minnesota law in 1974. In 1917 during World War I, the village changed its name to Motordale. It restored the name New Germany in 1922.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Germany, 1886 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Purity post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Purity post office closes
  5. 1902Post officeThe New Germany post office opens
  6. 1918Post officeThe Motordale post office opens
  7. 1921Post officeThe Motordale post office closes
  8. 1932Born hereJimmy Hutmaker is born here
  9. 1990Born hereAbby Hensel is born here
  10. 1990Born hereBrittany Hensel is born here
By decade

New Germany, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Village Hall, New Germany, Minnesota-012024Village Hall, New Germany, Minnesota-01Dakota Rail Regional Trail2024Dakota Rail Regional TrailBroadway Street2024Broadway StreetBroadway Street, New Germany, Minnesota-022024Broadway Street, New Germany, Minnesota-02Broadway Street to State Avenue2024Broadway Street to State AvenueBarn building2024Barn building
Famous people

3 famous people were born in New Germany

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

See all →
A
Abby HenselAmerican actress · b. 1990
B
Brittany HenselAmerican actress · b. 1990
J
Jimmy HutmakerLocal colorful character · b. 1932
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Camden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHollywood TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about New Germany’s history

What year was New Germany founded?

The New Germany 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.