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History · Squaw Lake

Squaw Lake’s post office opened in 1923, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1950.

1923first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Squaw Lake began

When was Squaw Lake founded?

1923

The Squaw Lake post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 132 in 19502020 census: 98103 years
Founding year: the first Squaw Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Squaw 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 Squaw Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 162 in 1980; 98 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1996. Watch Squaw Lake change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Squaw Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Squaw Lake’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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People over time

Squaw Lake, census by census

01001960198020002020Peak: 162

Peaked at 162 in 1980; 98 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

On the map

Squaw Lake on the map, 1919 to 1996

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

Squaw Lake on the 1919 USGS mapSquaw Lake on the 1971 USGS mapSquaw Lake on the 1996 USGS map1919Max 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 Squaw Lake.

The story

How Squaw Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Squaw Lake.

Read it all →

The Squaw Lake area was inhabited by Ojibwe people prior to the arrival of European colonizers. The land was set aside for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in 19th century treaties as part of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. Early on it was a hub for fur traders and loggers. It was later the site of a Great Northern Railway station. A post office was established there by 1923 and it was incorporated as a village in 1940.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Squaw Lake, 1919 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1923Post officeThe Squaw Lake post office opens
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 162
By decade

Squaw Lake, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Post office, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 102025Post office, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 10Light banner2025Light bannerFour directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 022025Four directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota…Four directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 012025Four directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota…Fire Department and Community Center, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 112025Fire Department and Community Center, Squaw Lake, Min…Business in Squaw Lake, Minnesota 092025Business in Squaw Lake, Minnesota 09MNMap-doton-Squaw Lake2005MNMap-doton-Squaw Lake
Famous people

Famous people close to Squaw Lake

Nobody well known was born in Squaw Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
James RobbAmerican philosopher · b. 1918
Mal FreeburgAmerican Pilot (March 6, 1906 – May 10, 1963) · b. 1906

Questions about Squaw Lake’s history

What year was Squaw Lake founded?

The Squaw Lake post office opened in 1923, 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 (7), 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.