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History · Wendell

Wendell’s post office opened in 1887, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1910.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Photo: afiler from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Wendell began

When was Wendell founded?

1887

The Wendell post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 175 in 19102020 census: 166139 years
Founding year: the first Wendell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wendell’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 Wendell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 284 in 1950; 166 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Wendell’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wendell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wendell’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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People over time

Wendell, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 284

Peaked at 284 in 1950; 166 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Wendell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wendell.

Read it all →

Wendell was platted in 1889 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation at Wendell since 1887.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wendell, 1887 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Wendell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 284
By decade

Wendell, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Wendell, Minnesota2006Wendell, MinnesotaMNMap-doton-Wendell2005MNMap-doton-Wendell
On the map

Wendell on the map, 1910 to 1973

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

Wendell on the 1910 USGS mapWendell on the 1973 USGS map1910Wendell sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wendell.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Wendell’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Wendell Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Wendell’s history

What year was Wendell founded?

The Wendell post office opened in 1887, 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 →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.