Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1920.
The Wanamingo post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wanamingo is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Wanamingo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wanamingo’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wanamingo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,086 to 1,113 (+2%).
Passages that mention Wanamingo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
townsite of Wanamingo was platted by the Milwaukee Land Company. The village has experienced a steady growth since the townsite was first platted and at present has a population of about 200 or more inhabitants. That the place has become one of the busiest little villages in southern Minnesota is but a reflection on the farming community in which it is located. Wanamingo township was. according to the census of 1900, the richest agricultural township in the United States and there is very little
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Wanamingo. — The post-office at Wanamingo is among the oldest in the county. It was established in the fifties, with James Brown as postmaster. Martin Halvorson served as postmaster there for nearly thirty years, and after him his son, Henry M.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
As soon as the Norwegian has got a comfortable home, and often before, he looks around for more land, and buys of his neighbor, if he can ; thus the price of land rises in Norwegian neighborhoods. In the township of Wanamingo — which is the center of the Norwegian settlements— land has sold within a year for as high as $50 per acre, which is nearly one-fourth higher than the same quality of land will sell for in other parts of the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the township of Wanamingo, below the village, near the mills, two quarries have been opened on the north bank of the Zumbro. A section may be also seen just below the mill-dam. It shows twelve or fifteen feet of ash-colored semi-crystalline shell limestone, resting conformably upon the blue bed which extends below the bed of the river.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wanamingo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wanamingo.
Grew from 350 people in 1920 to 1,113 in 2020, 3 times over.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wanamingo’s Wikipedia page.
Wanamingo’s post office has been open since 1857.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Wanamingo post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Wanamingo is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. 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.
21% of Wanamingo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2020
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