Most of Waverly was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Its Register listing is the Waverly Village Hall. Below: old-book passages.
The Waverly post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Zellingen (1863), Waverly Mills (1869) and Waverly Station (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,900127 years
How historic is Waverly?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Waverly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waverly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waverly is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waverly’s overall grade.
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 Waverly’s 4.4 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 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 Waverly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The framework for the City of Waverly began in 1855, when the territorial legislature passed an act organizing Wright County. Shortly thereafter, the government sent out a survey team to plot the county's divisions. The surveyors were greeted by established homesteaders who had already begun clearing the land and planting crops. Before European settlement, Waverly was predominantly Big Woods, with a mixture of oak, maple, basswood and hickory. Small portions of wet prairie existed on Waverly Lake's eastern edge and along the western edge of present-day CSAH 8.
Passages that mention Waverly, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 764Read the page →
Read the text
A special election called by the trustees of the village of Waverly for the purpose of ascertaining by ballot whether the village of Waverly should continue as then incorporated under a special act of the legislature or become reincorporated under the General Statute of Minnesota, was held on Monday, March 16, 1885, Due notice of said election having been given and the object of said election having been fully set forth in notices, polls opened at 10 a. m. and closed at £ p.m. Number of votes polled, 41; for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Minnesota volume II1915 · page 761Read the page →
Read the text
a county road in 1857, In 1857 a road was opened from the present village of Montrose to what was then the townsite of Marysville, in section 22, on the Crow river. In 1858 a road was opened from Waverly to the north part of the town, crossing Crow river where the present Marysville bridge now is. In 1879, the citizens of Montrose, among whom were J. F. Miller, T. S.
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.
Timeline
Waverly, 1863 to 1951
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Waverly post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waverly rank for history?
Waverly is more historic than 44% 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.
What is on the National Register in Waverly?
One place: the Waverly Village Hall (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Waverly?
10% of Waverly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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