Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1940.
Northrop dates its founding to 1899 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.
Northrop was named for Cyrus Northrop, president of the University of Minnesota.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Northrop’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Northrop.
Northrop was platted in 1899. It was named for Cyrus Northrop, president of the University of Minnesota. A post office was established at Northrop in 1900, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1972.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Northrop. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Northrop.
Between 134 and 276 people in every census since 1940.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Northrop’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Northrop itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Northrop had its own post office from 1900 to 1972.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1899, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Northrop’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1940 counted 134 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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.
2005
