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BHistory
History · Thief River Falls

Thief River Falls dates to 1887, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #63 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Thief River Falls Public Library, the Minneapolis St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot and the Thief River Falls Auditorium and Municipal Building. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1890.

1887founded
3on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Thief River Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Thief River Falls began

When was Thief River Falls founded?

1887

Thief River Falls dates its founding to 1887 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 191 in 18902020 census: 8,749139 years

How historic is Thief River Falls?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Thief River Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thief River Falls is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #63 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thief River Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1887, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.6% of homes (±3.9) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 77%

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 Thief River Falls’ 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1887.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Thief River Falls’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Thief River Falls, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1899 to 1916, drew every building in Thief River Falls.Famous sons and daughtersMel Peterson, Wyatt Smith and 15 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Thief River Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thief River Falls’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 viewSoo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minn…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Thief River Falls’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Rockstad, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rockstad
1881–1891
Thief River Falls
1891–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Basswood CourtChallenger CourtCountryside Mobile Home ParkGreendale ManorJamar Mobile Home ParkNorthwestern Trailer CourtRiverview Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Thief River Falls
GreenwoodSaint Bernard

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

Every building

Thief River Falls, building by building, 1899–1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Thief River Falls fire insurance map, 1899, sheet 11899Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Thief River Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Thief River Falls.

Read it all →

Thief River Falls takes its name from a geographic feature, the falls of the Red Lake River at its confluence with the Thief River. The name of the river is a loose translation of the Ojibwe phrase Gimood-akiwi ziibi, literally, the "Stolen-land river" or "Thieving-land river", which originated when a band of Dakota Indians occupied a secret encampment along the river, hence "stealing" the land, before being discovered and routed by the neighboring Ojibwe. In the Treaty of Old Crossing of 1863, the Moose Dung's Indian Reservation was established on the west bank of the Thief River, at its confluence with Red Lake River. This Indian Reservation was dissolved in 1904 and their population incorporated as part of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Thief River Falls, 1881 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Rockstad post office opens
  3. 1887
    FoundingThief River Falls is established
  4. 1891Post officeThe Rockstad post office closes
  5. 1891Post officeThe Thief River Falls post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1914In the archiveSoo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minnesota 1914
  8. 1938Born hereMel Peterson is born here
  9. 1959Born hereRalph R. Erickson is born here
  10. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1977Born hereWyatt Smith is born here
  12. 1988Born hereMichael Forney is born here
By decade

Thief River Falls, decade by decade

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

1910s1 item
Soo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minnesota 19141914Soo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minnesota 1914
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
Today15 recent
The 4 36 train near Thief River Falls2021The 4 36 train near Thief River FallsViking Depot--Thief River Falls, MN2020Viking Depot--Thief River Falls, MNPeder Engelstad Pioneer Village--Thief River Falls, MN2020Peder Engelstad Pioneer Village--Thief River Falls, MNHamre House2020Hamre House"Mini Ralph"2016"Mini Ralph"TRFlibbistro2012TRFlibbistro20120522-DSC00413-2-3201220120522-DSC00413-2-3TRFlibwestside2008TRFlibwestsideRalphtrf22008Ralphtrf2Libperfected2008LibperfectedSoo line depot2006Soo line depotMethodist church2006Methodist churchCarnegie library2006Carnegie libraryMNMap-doton-Thief River Falls2005MNMap-doton-Thief River FallsPink modernist house - Flickr - afiler2000Pink modernist house - Flickr - afiler
On the map

Thief River Falls on the map, 1959 to 1992

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

Thief River Falls on the 1959 USGS mapThief River Falls on the 1976 USGS mapThief River Falls on the 1985 USGS mapThief River Falls on the 1992 USGS map1959Thief River Falls 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 Thief River Falls.

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.

Soo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minnesota 1914
Retake this viewSoo train 162 at Thief River Falls Minnesota 1914, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Thief River Falls

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Thief River Falls Public Library
Thief River Falls Public LibraryMinneapolis St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie DepotThief River Falls Auditorium and Municipal Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
Thief River Falls Public LibraryBuilding
Minneapolis St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie DepotBungalow/Craftsman
All 3 listings
Thief River Falls Auditorium and Municipal BuildingBuilding · listed 2020

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

People over time

Thief River Falls, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,105

Between 191 and 9,105 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Thief River Falls’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Thief River Falls

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

See all →
M
Mel PetersonAmerican basketball player · b. 1938
Wyatt SmithAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1977
M
Michael ForneyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1988
Ralph R. EricksonUnited States federal judge · b. 1959
John H. HayAmerican military personnel · b. 1917
J
John McCormickEnglish philologist · b. 1918
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rocksbury TownshipIts storyCNorth TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Thief River Falls’ history

What year was Thief River Falls founded?

In 1887, according to Wikidata. Thief River Falls’ post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1890 counted 191 people here.

How does Thief River Falls rank for history?

Thief River Falls is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Thief River Falls?

Three places: the Thief River Falls Public Library (listed 1983), the Minneapolis St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot (1995) and the Thief River Falls Auditorium and Municipal Building (2020).

How old are the homes in Thief River Falls?

24% of Thief River Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (16), Wikidata (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.