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History · Pine River

Pine River’s post office opened in 1877, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Brainerd and Northern Minnesota-Minnesota and International Railway Depot. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1910.

1877first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pine River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pine River began

When was Pine River founded?

1877

The Pine River post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 329 in 19102020 census: 911149 years
Founding year: the first Pine River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pine River’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pine River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pine River’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPaul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River F…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Pine River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pine River.

Read it all →

Pine River was incorporated in 1901. Its post office began in 1877.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pine River, 1877 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Pine River post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1941Born hereTerry Baker is born here
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1995In the archivePaul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River Float
By decade

Pine River, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s4 items
Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River Float1995Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River FloatPaul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River Information Center1995Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River Information Cen…Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River Parade1995Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Pine River ParadePaul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Resting Cyclists1995Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway - Resting Cyclists
Today2 recent
Pine River Depot - American Flag, Minnesota2018Pine River Depot - American Flag, MinnesotaOath Keepers-Billboard, Pine River, MN, July 20152015Oath Keepers-Billboard, Pine River, MN, July 2015
On the map

Pine River on the map, 1959 to 1994

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

Pine River on the 1959 USGS mapPine River on the 1976 USGS mapPine River on the 1994 USGS map1959Pine River 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 Pine River.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Pine River

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
Brainerd and Northern Minnesota-Minnesota and I…
Brainerd and Northern Minnesota-Minnesota and International Railway Depot
Buildings
Brainerd and Northern Minnesota-Minnesota and International Railway DepotBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pine River, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 944

Between 329 and 944 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Pine River’s post office has been open since 1877.

Gone or out of use
Pine Riverlocale

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Barclay TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine River TownshipIts storyC−Walden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChickamaw BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pine River’s history

What year was Pine River founded?

The Pine River post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pine River?

One place: the Brainerd and Northern Minnesota-Minnesota and International Railway Depot (listed 2012).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.