Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rice Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rice Lake is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #150 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rice 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 Rice 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 C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1870.
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 Rice Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
After portions of the township had been annexed by the city of Duluth, the residents began the process to be recognized as a city. On August 20, 2015, Administrative Law Judge Barbara J. Case signed an Order of Incorporation which allowed the township of Rice Lake to convert into the city of Rice Lake.
In an election held on October 13, 2015, Rice Lake residents elected a mayor and members of the city council. The results of the election were certified. The township was formally organized as a city on October 22, 2015.
In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rice Lake’s post office opened in 1895, and the census of 1880 counted 63 people here.
How does Rice Lake rank for history?
Rice Lake is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #150 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 Rice Lake?
16% of Rice Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1972.
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, 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.
