The Richmond post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Torah (1856), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,475117 years
How historic is Richmond?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Richmond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richmond’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richmond is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richmond’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 Richmond’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Richmond’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Richmond was platted in 1856 by Reuben Richardson, a farmer from Sauk Rapids who later served in Minnesota Legislature. The name "Richmond" may come from the surname of an early settler, the surname of Richardson's wife, or an early surveyor. The original plat was a seven block by seven block square piece of land. Two years later, land owned by G.H. Brauning (also spelled Bruening), on the eastern side of the town, was added to Richmond's plat. The town was incorporated in 1890, but went by the name Torah, because there was another town in southeastern Minnesota named Richmond. The same year of its incorporation, a Great Northern Railway station was built. The town's post office and railroad station was named Torah until 1909, when the other Richmond's post office closed. Following this, the name changed to Richmond, a name that locals identified with.
Passages that mention Richmond, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Stearns County, Minnesota1915 · page 1252Read the page →
Read the text
taken from the township of St. Cloud and annexed to the township of Maine Prairie. The name of the township of Springfield was changed to Wakefield September 14, and November 2 the name of the township of Richmond was changed to Richardson and that of Winnebago to Calais, but the latter change was reconsidered and the name of Brockway chosen. At the session January 3, 1859, the name Richardson was changed to Munson and the township of Corning was established with the following-described boundaries : Commencing at the mouth of the Clearwater river, following up the Mississippi river to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Stearns County, Minnesota1915 · page 1251Read the page →
Read the text
127, ranges 29, 30 and 31, lying south of the northern boundary of Stearns county. The township of Maine Prairie was to include townships 122 and 123, range 29. The township of Springfield was to be composed of townships 122 and 123, range 30. The township of Richmond embraced townships 122, 123 and 124 and the south half of township 125, range 31, and the west half of township 124 and the southwest quarter of township 125, range 30. The township of Verdale was made up of township 122, 123 and 124, ranges 32, 33, 34 and 35. The township of Sauk Centre included townships 125 and 126, all of
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
Richmond, 1856 to 1945
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Richmond post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Richmond rank for history?
Richmond is more historic than 32% 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.
How old are the homes in Richmond?
28% of Richmond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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