Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Silver Lake

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Silver Lake

Silver Lake’s post office opened in 1867, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1900.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Silver Lake began

When was Silver Lake founded?

1867

The Silver Lake post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 321 in 19002020 census: 866159 years
Founding year: the first Silver Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Silver Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Silver Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Silver Lake’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silver Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silver Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Silver Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silver Lake.

Read it all →

Silver Lake was platted in 1881, and named for the lake near the town site. Silver Lake was incorporated in 1889. The city was co-founded by John S. Jerabek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Silver Lake, 1867 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Silver Lake post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922Born hereD.D. Wozniak is born here
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1985Born hereWilliam VanDeSteeg is born here
By decade

Silver Lake, decade by decade

Today6 recent
City Hall2024City HallChurch building2024Church buildingBuilding, and Fire Department2024Building, and Fire DepartmentBuilding, Fire Department, and water tower2024Building, Fire Department, and water towerAuditorium2024AuditoriumAmerican Legion, Post 1412024American Legion, Post 141
On the map

Silver Lake on the map, 1958 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Silver Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Silver Lake on the 1958 USGS mapSilver Lake on the 1982 USGS map1958Glencoe sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Silver Lake.

People over time

Silver Lake, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020866

Grew from 321 people in 1900 to 866 in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Silver Lake’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Silver Lake

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William VanDeSteegAmerican football player · b. 1985
D
D.D. WozniakChief Judge Minnesots Court of Appeals · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Silver Lake’s post office has been open since 1867.

Gone or out of use
Silver Lakelocale
1cemetery inside Silver Lake
Saint Adelbert's Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Silver Lake’s history

What year was Silver Lake founded?

The Silver Lake post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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) 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.