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History · Nielsville

Nielsville’s post office opened in 1883, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1930.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Nielsville began

When was Nielsville founded?

1883

The Nielsville post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 186 in 19302020 census: 78143 years
Founding year: the first Nielsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Nielsville’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 Nielsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Nielsville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nielsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nielsville’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
The story

How Nielsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nielsville.

Read it all →

A post office has been in operation at Nielsville since 1883. Nielsville formerly had a depot on the railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Nielsville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Nielsville, Minnesota highway 75 view2021Nielsville, Minnesota highway 75 view
On the map

Nielsville on the map, 1964 to 1984

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

Nielsville on the 1964 USGS mapNielsville on the 1984 USGS map1964Climax 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 Nielsville.

People over time

Nielsville, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 189

Between 78 and 189 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Nielsville’s history

What year was Nielsville founded?

The Nielsville post office opened in 1883, 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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.