More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #246 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Prior Lake was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1900.
The Prior Lake post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891. Three smaller post offices, Mount Pleasant (1856), Maple Glen (1861) and Grainwood (1905), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 148 in 19002020 census: 27,617154 years
How historic is Prior Lake?
C−
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Prior Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.
History grade
What drives Prior Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prior Lake is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Prior Lake’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 Prior Lake’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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1891 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 →
What stands out about Prior Lake’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
Prior Lake’s post office has been open since 1872. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mount Pleasant
1856–1857
Maple Glen
1861–1903
Prior Lake
1872–today
Grainwood
1905–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GrainwoodSpring Lake
Gone or out of use
GrainwoodlocaleGrainwood Post Officepost officeMapleglen Post Officepost officeMount Pleasant Post Officepost officePrior Lake Drive-InlocalePrior Lake Railroad StationlocaleTaylorport Landing Stripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prior Lake
Saint MichaelsSaint Paul's Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Prior Lake, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Prior Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Prior Lake is an exurban city 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Minneapolis, next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city is south of the Minnesota River in an area known as RiverSouth and establishes the urban fringe of the south-southwest portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. The population was 27,617 at the 2020 census. Prior Lake was incorporated as a village in 1891. It is one of the oldest cities in the south metro area. The city's modern rapid growth is due in part to the ease of access for commuters to the rest of the region, via the upgraded …
Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 22,796 to 27,617 (+21%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Prior Lake, 1856 to 1999
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Prior Lake post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
How does Prior Lake rank for history?
Prior Lake is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Prior Lake?
2% of Prior Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (6), 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.
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