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B+History
History · Wadena

Wadena’s post office opened in 1873, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #51 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Commercial Hotel, the Northern Pacific Passenger Depot and the Wadena Fire and City Hall. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
3on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wadena’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wadena began

When was Wadena founded?

1873

The Wadena post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 307 in 18802020 census: 4,325153 years

How historic is Wadena?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wadena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wadena’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wadena is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #51 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 Wadena’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.3% of homes (±8.3) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 6.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 82%

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 Wadena’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (68% 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Wadena’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1924, drew every building in Wadena.Old housesHalf of Wadena’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wadena’s collection

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

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

Wadena, building by building, 1894–1924

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.

Wadena fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 3
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 Wadena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wadena.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement at Wadena was made in 1871. The city is named after Chief Wadena, an Ojibwe Indian chief of the late 19th century in northwestern Minnesota. A post office has been in operation at Wadena since 1873. Wadena was incorporated in 1881. Four properties in Wadena are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Commercial Hotel built circa 1885, the Wadena Fire and City Hall built in 1912, the Northern Pacific Passenger Depot built in 1915, and the Peterson-Biddick Seed and Feed Company built 1916–1936.

Chapters2010 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wadena, 1873 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Wadena post office opens
  3. 1885BuiltCommercial Hotel is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Born hereForrest Mars is born here
  6. 1913BuiltWadena Fire and City Hall is built
  7. 1915BuiltNorthern Pacific Passenger Depot is built
  8. 1923In the archiveUntitled photo
  9. 1926Born hereJack McBride is born here
  10. 1938Born hereJohn Campbell is born here
  11. 1939In the archiveHighway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota
  12. 1959Born herePat Porter is born here
  13. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wadena, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s4 items
Untitled photo1923Untitled photoHighway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, MinnesotaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No.…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No. 10 near Wadena, Minnesota1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Highway U.S. No.…
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
Today11 recent
Immanuel Lutheran2024Immanuel LutheranBryant Avenue at Jefferson Street2024Bryant Avenue at Jefferson StreetWadena County Historical Society Museum2016Wadena County Historical Society MuseumWadena MN Downtown US71 US10 intersection2013Wadena MN Downtown US71 US10 intersectionWadena Depot2013Wadena DepotPeterson-Biddick Seed & Feed Company2013Peterson-Biddick Seed & Feed CompanyCommercial Hotel2013Commercial HotelNEXRAD Wadena MN EF42010NEXRAD Wadena MN EF4FEMA - 44750 - Damaged community pool in Minnesota2010FEMA - 44750 - Damaged community pool in MinnesotaCommercial Hotel2006Commercial HotelMNMap-doton-Wadena2005MNMap-doton-Wadena
On the map

Wadena on the map, 1969 to 1986

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

Wadena on the 1969 USGS mapWadena on the 1986 USGS map1969Wadena 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 Wadena.

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.

Untitled photo
Retake this viewUntitled photo, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Wadena

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
1988
Commercial Hotel
Commercial Hotel, built 1885Northern Pacific Passenger Depot, built 1915Wadena Fire and City Hall, built 1913
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Commercial Queen Anne1
Renaissance Revival1
Commercial HotelLate Victorian · Built 1885
Northern Pacific Passenger DepotBuilt 1915
Wadena Fire and City HallRenaissance Revival · Built 1913

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

People over time

Wadena, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,699

Between 307 and 4,699 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Wadena

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

See all →
Forrest MarsAmerican businessman · b. 1904
J
John CampbellAmerican football player and Navy veteran · b. 1938
P
Pat PorterAmerican athletic competitor · b. 1959
J
Jack McBrideAmerican politician · b. 1926
J
Jim ChristophersonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1938
R
Robert A. AndersonAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1932
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Leaf River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWadena TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCompton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wadena’s history

What year was Wadena founded?

The Wadena post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wadena rank for history?

Wadena is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #51 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 Wadena?

Three places: the Commercial Hotel (listed 1988), the Northern Pacific Passenger Depot (1989) and the Wadena Fire and City Hall (1989).

How old are the homes in Wadena?

23% of Wadena’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), 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.