The story
Read it all →How White Bear Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of White Bear Township.
White Bear Township was settled in the 1840s and officially organized in 1858.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · White Bear Township
White Bear Township dates to 1858, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #145 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of White Bear Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the E. H. Hobe House-Solheim. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1860.
1858founded
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How White Bear Township began
When was White Bear Township founded?
1858
White Bear Township dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
First census: 267 in 18602020 census: 11,049168 years
How historic is White Bear Township?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives White Bear Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, White Bear Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #145 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of White Bear Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.1% of homes (±2.0) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 47%
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 White Bear Township’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1858.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 White Bear Township’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1993. Watch White Bear Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s White Bear Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start White Bear Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how White Bear Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
White Bear Township on the map, 1902 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of White Bear Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902White Bear sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of White Bear Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Otter Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bald EagleBellaireWhite Bear Beach
1cemetery inside White Bear Township
Saint Mary of the Lake
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
White Bear Township, 1856 to 1908
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1856Post officeThe Otter Lake post office opens
- 1858FoundingWhite Bear Township is established
- 1860Post officeThe Otter Lake post office closes
- 1897
BuiltE. H. Hobe House-Solheim is built - 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1908
In the archiveGreetings from White Bear
By decade
White Bear Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s1 item
1910s–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
2025
2025
2019
2013Then & 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.
Retake this viewGreetings from White Bear, 1908
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on White Bear Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in White Bear Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
E. H. Hobe House-Solheim
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Victorian1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
White Bear Township, census by census
Between 267 and 11,293 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on White Bear Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
White Bear Lake4 historic placesB−North Oaks1 historic placeC−Gem LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVadnais HeightsIts storyDBirchwood VillageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMahtomediIts storyCDellwoodIts storyCHugoIts storyC−Lino LakesIts storyD
Questions about White Bear Township’s history
What year was White Bear Township founded?
In 1858, according to Wikidata. White Bear Township’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1860 counted 267 people here.
How does White Bear Township rank for history?
White Bear Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #145 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 White Bear Township?
One place: the E. H. Hobe House-Solheim (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in White Bear Township?
7% of White Bear Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1984.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.