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History · Northome

Northome’s post office opened in 1903, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Northome’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Northome began

When was Northome founded?

1903

The Northome post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Phena (1902), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 206 in 19102020 census: 155123 years
Founding year: the first Northome post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Northome’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 351 in 1970; 155 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1971. Watch Northome change.Old housesHalf of Northome’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · People over time

Northome, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 351

Peaked at 351 in 1970; 155 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

By decade

Northome, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s12 items
Residents of Northome, Minnesota1937Residents of Northome, MinnesotaFarmwife near Northome, Minnesota1937Farmwife near Northome, MinnesotaFarm boy near Northome, Minnesota1937Farm boy near Northome, MinnesotaMain street of Northome, Minnesota1937Main street of Northome, MinnesotaCut-over farmer near Northome, Minnesota1937Cut-over farmer near Northome, MinnesotaGirl astride mule, farm near Northome, Minnesota1937Girl astride mule, farm near Northome, MinnesotaGirl astride mule, farm near Northome, Minnesota1937Girl astride mule, farm near Northome, MinnesotaDoll buggy on farm near Northome, Minnesota1937Doll buggy on farm near Northome, MinnesotaJ. W. Panchot's farmhouse near Northome, Minnesota1937J. W. Panchot's farmhouse near Northome, MinnesotaHome of Steve Flanders near Northome, Minnesota1937Home of Steve Flanders near Northome, MinnesotaLiving room in farmhouse near Northome, Minnesota1937Living room in farmhouse near Northome, MinnesotaHorses and haywagon on farm near Northome, Minnesota1937Horses and haywagon on farm near Northome, Minnesota
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Northome on the map, 1919 to 1971

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

Northome on the 1919 USGS mapNorthome on the 1924 USGS mapNorthome on the 1971 USGS map1919Bridgie sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Northome came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northome.

Read it all →

Northome was founded in 1903 and enjoyed a boom early in the 20th century as a logging town. It is possible that the name "Northome" derives from the Norwegian place name "Norheim", which is found in four places in Norway. The name literally means "north home".

By the 1930s the big white and red pines were gone and all local pine trees were essentially extirpated due to unsustainable logging practices. Farming gained importance. Many farmers relocated to Northome from the Dust Bowl conditions in the Dakotas.

The Burlington Northern Railroad had a depot in Northome until the 1980s, but passenger service discontinued in 1960. Today the abandoned railroad bed forms the Blue Ox section of a large network of snowmobile trails.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Northome, 1902 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Phena post office opens
  3. 1903Post officeThe Phena post office closes
  4. 1903Post officeThe Northome post office opens
  5. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1937In the archiveResidents of Northome, Minnesota
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 351
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Residents of Northome, Minnesota
Retake this viewResidents of Northome, Minnesota, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Northome’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Northome’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Phena, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Phena
1902–1903
Northome
1903–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Griffith Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Northomelocale
1cemetery inside Northome
Forest Hill

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

Help out

Finish Northome’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewResidents of Northome, Minnesota: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Northome’s history

What year was Northome founded?

The Northome post office opened in 1903, 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 the Library of Congress (12), 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.