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–Not graded
History · Tenstrike

Tenstrike’s post office opened in 1899, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1972 on, and the census since 1910.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tenstrike’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tenstrike began

When was Tenstrike founded?

1899

The Tenstrike post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 250 in 19102020 census: 186127 years
Founding year: the first Tenstrike post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
The story

How Tenstrike came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tenstrike.

Read it all →

A post office called Tenstrike has been in operation since 1899.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tenstrike, 1899 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Tenstrike post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939In the archiveFarmers at auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota
  5. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tenstrike, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Farmers at auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota1939Farmers at auction near Tenstrike, MinnesotaAuctioneer trying to sell pitchfork1939Auctioneer trying to sell pitchforkFarmer examining phonograph. Auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota1939Farmer examining phonograph. Auction near Tenstrike, …Ladies serving lunch at auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota1939Ladies serving lunch at auction near Tenstrike, Minne…Auctioneer trying to sell pitchfork, near Tenstrike, Minnesota1939Auctioneer trying to sell pitchfork, near Tenstrike, …Farmer examining cream separator. Auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota1939Farmer examining cream separator. Auction near Tenstr…
1940s–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
On the map

Tenstrike on the map, 1972 to 1996

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

Tenstrike on the 1972 USGS mapTenstrike on the 1996 USGS map1972Tenstrike sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Farmers at auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota
Retake this viewFarmers at auction near Tenstrike, Minnesota, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Tenstrike, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 250

Between 138 and 250 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Tenstrike’s post office has been open since 1899.

Gone or out of use
Tenstrikelocale

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

Help out

Finish Tenstrike’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFarmers at auction near Tenstrike, Minn…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Port Hope TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTaylor Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHagali TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tenstrike’s history

What year was Tenstrike founded?

The Tenstrike post office opened in 1899, 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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.