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–Not graded
History · Waubun

Waubun’s post office opened in 1906, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

1906first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Waubun began

When was Waubun founded?

1906

The Waubun post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 409120 years
Founding year: the first Waubun post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Waubun’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Waubun came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waubun.

Read it all →

The city was incorporated as a village on December 18, 1907. When the Soo Line was built through the county in 1903–4, the general manager, Pennington, and his chief engineer, Thomas Green, named the stations as they moved the line north; all towns on the White Earth Indian Reservation had to have Ojibwe Native American names. The community post office was established in 1905 as Bement and changed to Waubun in 1906. The name "Waubun" comes from the Ojibwe word for "the east", "the morning", "the twilight of dawn", and "dawn of day".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Waubun, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Fire station2025Fire stationBusinesses on First Street, Waubun, Minnesota-022025Businesses on First Street, Waubun, Minnesota-02Businesses on First Street, Waubun, Minnesota-012025Businesses on First Street, Waubun, Minnesota-01Barber Shop2025Barber ShopBandstand2025BandstandWaubun, Minnesota2007Waubun, Minnesota
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Waubun’s post office has been open since 1906.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Haddeland Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waubun
Saint AnnsWaubun

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.

Popple Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waubun’s history

What year was Waubun founded?

The Waubun post office opened in 1906, 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 →
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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 (6), 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.