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Welcome To Sturgeon Lake signPhoto: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Sturgeon Lake

Sturgeon Lake’s post office opened in 1881

Most of Sturgeon Lake was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1910.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Sturgeon Lake began

When was Sturgeon Lake founded?

1881

The Sturgeon Lake post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.

First census: 183 in 19102020 census: 436145 years
Founding year: the first Sturgeon Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.

What stands out about Sturgeon 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 Sturgeon Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sturgeon Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sturgeon 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 so far

Sturgeon Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sturgeon Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sturgeon Lake is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 436 at the 2020 census. Interstate 35, County Road 46, and County 61 (Main Street) are three of the main routes in the community.

Its first post office opened in 1881. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 439 in 2010, 436 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Sturgeon Lake, 1881 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Sturgeon Lake post office opens
  3. 1894Born hereGeorge Cunningham is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1983Born hereClay Wilson is born here
By decade

Sturgeon Lake, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Welcome To Sturgeon Lake sign2021Welcome To Sturgeon Lake signSturgeon Lake Fire Department in2021Sturgeon Lake Fire Department inSturgeon Lake City Hall2021Sturgeon Lake City HallBlue Sturgeon Lake building2021Blue Sturgeon Lake building
On the map

Sturgeon Lake on the map, 1961 to 1981

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

Sturgeon Lake on the 1961 USGS mapSturgeon Lake on the 1981 USGS map1961Moose Lake 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 Sturgeon Lake.

People over time

Sturgeon Lake, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 439

Between 151 and 439 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Sturgeon Lake

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

See all →
Clay WilsonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1983
George CunninghamAmerican baseball player · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Sturgeon Lake’s post office has been open since 1881.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Sun-Bay Mobile Court and Camping
Gone or out of use
Sturgeon Lakelocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sturgeon Lake
Saint IsidoresSturgeon Lake

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.

Sturgeon Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWindemere TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Sturgeon Lake’s history

What year was Sturgeon Lake founded?

The Sturgeon Lake post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

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 (4), 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.