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B+History
History · St. Charles

St. Charles dates to 1854, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #38 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1870.

1854founded
3on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From St. Charles’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How St. Charles began

When was St. Charles founded?

1854

St. Charles dates its founding to 1854 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,151 in 18702020 census: 3,990172 years

How historic is St. Charles?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. Charles’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Charles is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #38 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 St. Charles’ overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.7% of homes (±5.8) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 9 historic buildings, 22.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 86%

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 St. Charles’ 22.3 sits above most of its state (85% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% 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 (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1854.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 St. Charles’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Charles’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMN: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How St. Charles came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Charles.

Read it all →

St. Charles was laid out in 1854, and named for Saint Charles Borromeo (1538–1584), an Italian saint and cardinal. A post office has been in operation at St. Charles since 1855. St. Charles was incorporated in 1870.

The city was evacuated on April 17, 2009, when a large fire at North Star Foods, a poultry processing plant, threatened anhydrous ammonia tanks. Residents were allowed to return the next day.

Three properties in St. Charles are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the 1874 Trinity Episcopal Church, the 1876 St. Charles City Bakery, and the 1890s Whitewater Avenue Commercial Historic District.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Charles, 1854 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingSt. Charles is established
  3. 1855Post officeThe Saint Charles post office opens
  4. 1891Born hereGeorge W. Kiefer is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910In the archive1910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMN
  7. 1913Born hereArt Donahue is born here
  8. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1956Born hereBrad Nessler is born here
By decade

St. Charles, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
1910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMN19101910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMNPostcardIngersollpostcardStCharlesMN1910IngersollpostcardStCharlesMNPostcard
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Interstate - 90 in Minnesota2023Interstate - 90 in MinnesotaCP 687, St. Charles, Minn2020CP 687, St. Charles, MinnSt. Charles, Minnesota2017St. Charles, MinnesotaUS Route 142016US Route 14St. Charles MN water tower2016St. Charles MN water towerSt. Charles MN sign2016St. Charles MN signSt. Charles MN downtown2016St. Charles MN downtownNorthStarFoodsAfterFire2009NorthStarFoodsAfterFire501WhitewaterAve559722008501WhitewaterAve55972StCharlesMN2006StCharlesMN
On the map

St. Charles on the map, 1954 to 1974

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

St. Charles on the 1954 USGS mapSt. Charles on the 1974 USGS map1954Chatfield 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 St. Charles.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMN
Retake this view1910postcardHighSchoolStCharlesMN, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Charles’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in St. Charles

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
St. Charles City Bakery
St. Charles City BakeryWhitewater Avenue Commercial Historic DistrictTrinity Episcopal Church
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Carpenter Gothic1
St. Charles City BakeryBuilding
Whitewater Avenue Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict
All 3 listings
Trinity Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1984

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

St. Charles, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000188019001920194019601980200020203,990

Grew from 1,151 people in 1870 to 3,990 in 2020, 3 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in St. Charles

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

See all →
B
Brad NesslerAmerican sportscaster · b. 1956
A
Art DonahueAmerican World War II flying ace serving with t… · b. 1913
G
George W. KieferAmerican politician · b. 1891
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Charles
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside St. Charles
CalvaryHillside

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

St. Charles TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about St. Charles’ history

What year was St. Charles founded?

In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. St. Charles’ post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 1,151 people here.

How does St. Charles rank for history?

St. Charles is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #38 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 St. Charles?

Three places: the St. Charles City Bakery (listed 1984), the Whitewater Avenue Commercial Historic District (1984) and the Trinity Episcopal Church (1984).

How old are the homes in St. Charles?

24% of St. Charles’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.