Scandia’s post office opened in 1878, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #75 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Hay Lake School, the Johannes Erickson House and the John Copas House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1985 on, and the census since 2000.
The Scandia post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Otisville (1886) and Copas (1906), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,692 in 20002020 census: 3,984148 years
How historic is Scandia?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Scandia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Scandia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Scandia is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #75 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Scandia’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 Scandia’s 7.6 sits above most of its state (71% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 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 Scandia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
As evidenced by the town's name, Scandia has a rich Scandinavian heritage. It is the site of what is believed to have been Minnesota's first Swedish immigrant settlement. In 1850, the first log cabin was built on the shores of Hay Lake. The first sanctuary of Elim Lutheran Church was built in 1856 on a site near Hay Lake.
After many years as New Scandia Township, Scandia became a city on January 1, 2007, to allay concerns that the community could be annexed by the nearby city of Forest Lake. The city is served by a weekly newspaper, the Country Messenger.
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 Scandia post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Scandia rank for history?
Scandia is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #75 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 Scandia?
Three places: the Hay Lake School (listed 1970), the Johannes Erickson House (1976) and the John Copas House (1980).
How old are the homes in Scandia?
17% of Scandia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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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