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History · Solway

Solway’s post office opened in 1898, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1900.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Solway began

When was Solway founded?

1898

The Solway post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 177 in 19002020 census: 73128 years
Founding year: the first Solway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Solway’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 Solway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1972. Watch Solway change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Solway’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Solway on the map, 1919 to 1972

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

Solway on the 1919 USGS mapSolway on the 1943 USGS mapSolway on the 1972 USGS map1919Solway 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 Solway.

The story

How Solway came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Solway.

Read it all →

Solway was settled in 1899 during a period of logging and railroad development in northern Minnesota. Its name may refer to the Solway Firth between England and Scotland, although the origin is not certain. The community grew near major timber operations and served as a center for logging camps between Red Lake, Itasca, Bagley, and other sites. At its peak, Solway had a hospital, jail, bank, saloons, hotels, a blacksmith shop, livery stable, mercantile store, newspaper, train depot, fire department, and post office. A post office called Solway has been in operation since 1898. Buildings connected to this period include the former Solway Mercantile Store, built about 1899 and later occupied by JD's Outpost; Solway Lutheran Church, built in 1921; the Old Solway School, built in 1937 after two earlier school buildings burned; and the Solway Town Hall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Solway, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Solway School building2026Solway School buildingSolway Post Office2026Solway Post OfficeMinnesota Centennial Monument2026Minnesota Centennial MonumentLammers Town Hall2026Lammers Town HallBusinesses on Centerline Road2026Businesses on Centerline Road
People over time

Solway, census by census

01001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 177

Between 69 and 177 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Questions about Solway’s history

What year was Solway founded?

The Solway post office opened in 1898, 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 →
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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 (5), 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.