More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #242 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Plymouth was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plymouth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plymouth is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #242 of 273 in Minnesota. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plymouth’s overall grade.
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 Plymouth’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1852.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
What stands out about Plymouth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Plymouth had its own post office from 1865 to 1901. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Medicine Lake
1856–1864
Plymouth
1865–1901
Parkers Lake
1871–1894
Ditter
1887–1901
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Medicine LakeMission Farms
Gone or out of use
Advance Machine Company HeliportairportDitter Post Officepost officeMedicine Lake Post Officepost officeParkers Lake Post Officepost officePlymouth Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Plymouth
Mount OlivetParkers LakeSaint Joseph Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Plymouth on the map, 1902 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plymouth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Anoka 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 Plymouth.
Plymouth's history can be traced to the pre-Columbian period. The original inhabitants were the Dakota. Their encampment was at the north end of Medicine Lake. The name Medicine Lake is derived from the Dakota word Mdewakanton, meaning "Lake of the Spirit." The Dakota named the lake after a warrior who overturned his canoe and his body was never recovered.
Antoine LeCounte, a guide and explorer, was the first settler in this area. He arrived in 1848, but did not settle until 1852. He carried mail from the Red River of the North to points south, trading goods to Native Americans for horses on the way. LeCounte built the first cabin at what is now East Medicine Lake Boulevard at 29th Avenue North.
Passages that mention Plymouth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 492Read the page →
Read the text
vision ; station D, corner of Main street and Thirteenth Avenue north, Fast Division ; station E, on Third street, between \icollet and First Avenue south ; station F. on Plymouth Avenue, between First and Second streets : and station (J, corner of W ashinglon and F'omteenth Avenues soiitli. a double house — a consolidation of stations (i and II, and the finest building in the depart-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
became a well known guide and interpreter, and was constantly employed by the government, and traders, in those capacities, until the year 1853, when he made this claim in the town of Plymouth, where he settled down for the remainder of his life, and made his permanent home. Mr. Le Count was a quiet, unobtrusive man, and a good citizen.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Medicine Lake, Parker’s and Bass are principal lakes of the town of Plymouth. The former is a very beautiful and much visited water. It is about two miles in length by threequarters of a mile in width. Its banks are wooded, and from it flows the stream that waters Golden Valley.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 332Read the page →
Read the text
The site for the village of Plymouth was located on the iHirtli ami west shores of Parker's Lake, in the fall of 18.56. It was laid out by Jared and Daniel Demon and Messrs. Sherburne.
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.
Timeline
Plymouth, 1852 to 1995
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1852, according to Wikidata. Plymouth’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1860 counted 393 people here.
How does Plymouth rank for history?
Plymouth is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #242 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
How old are the homes in Plymouth?
2% of Plymouth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.
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