Sandstone’s post office opened in 1887, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #30 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Sandstone post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sandstone’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sandstone is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #30 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sandstone’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 Sandstone’s 24.2 sits above most of its state (86% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 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 Sandstone’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Village of Fortuna was platted by Caleb C. Ward and incorporated on May 19, 1857. It was originally platted at the junction of the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road and Kettle River. Fortuna served as the county seat for Buchanan County, Minnesota. By 1887, it had 200 residents. Just north of Fortuna, the Village of Sandstone was platted in June 1887 and incorporated on September 28, 1887. On April 14, 1920, the villages of Fortuna and Sandstone merged and reincorporated as the City of Sandstone.
Sandstone station served Great Northern Railway and Amtrak passenger trains until 1985.
Passages that mention Sandstone, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of the great Minnesota forest fires, Sandstone, Mission Creek, Hinckley, Pokegama, Skunk Lake1894 · page 137Read the page →
Read the text
to furnish them something to busy their hands with as soon as the fire had passed. The commission established a depot at Hinckley and also one at Sandstone, and a warehouse was built at Hinckley for the purpose of holding the stores received for the sufferers. The Hinckley Depot has been abolished so far as the office is concerned, and the one at Sandstone will be in the course of a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the great Minnesota forest fires, Sandstone, Mission Creek, Hinckley, Pokegama, Skunk Lake1894 · page 210Read the page →
Read the text
At Sandstone on the damaged bridge of the East em railway the north and south approaches were reduced to cinders while the middle span was intact, and on this part of the structure was found a large dog which had evidently run onto the bridge and was hemmed in by the fires at both ends. He remained upon his perch on the bridge for three days, and wThen a bridge man finally climbed to
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
Sandstone, 1887 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Sandstone post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sandstone rank for history?
Sandstone is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #30 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.
What is on the National Register in Sandstone?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Sandstone School (listed 1979, the first), 1 historic district, the Kettle River Sandstone Company Quarry, with 2 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sandstone?
28% of Sandstone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1912
1912
1912
1913
2005
