Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1910.
The Parkers Prairie post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Parkers Prairie is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Parkers Prairie’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Parkers Prairie’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Parkers Prairie.
Parkers Prairie was platted in 1880, some ten years after its namesake Parkers Prairie Township. The city was incorporated in 1903.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Parkers Prairie, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which order he was instrumental in organizing in Parkers Prairie. In connection with his many other interests, he is part owner of the Prairie hotel, located in the town of Parkers Prairie. With a past of such notable achievements, surely the future will be as rich in service as his honesty and ability entitle him. and the sincere regard of his fellow citizens will be as loyal and lasting.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Hugh H. Hall received his education in the local schools of Parkers Prairie and was a student in the Alexandria high school. Upon the completion of his student days he assisted his father with the work on the home place, later engaging in the livery business in Parkers Prairie for a pern »1 of three years. This business has been most successful, and a sales stable has been added, which he has conducted for the past fifteen years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Parkers Prairie. 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 Parkers Prairie.
Grew from 383 people in 1910 to 1,020 in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Parkers Prairie’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Parkers Prairie’s post office has been open since 1870.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Parkers Prairie post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Parkers Prairie is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. 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.
22% of Parkers Prairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1968.
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).
From 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
