The Winsted post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Winsted Lake (1866), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 2,240168 years
How historic is Winsted?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Winsted post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winsted’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winsted is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winsted’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 Winsted’s 4.6 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 (±6.9 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 Winsted’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A post office called Winsted has been in operation since 1858. The city was named after Winsted, Connecticut. The name is a portmanteau of the names of two towns, Winchester and Barkhamsted, in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The Electric Short Line (commonly called the Luce Line) provided freight and interurban passenger rail service to Winsted. Passenger service ended by the 1950s, and the Chicago & North Western Railway abandoned the tracks in 1972.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Winsted’s post office has been open since 1858. Another post office, Winsted Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Winsted
1858–today
Winsted Lake
1866–1886
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Country Acres
1cemetery inside Winsted
Holy Trinity
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Winsted’s history
What year was Winsted founded?
The Winsted post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Winsted rank for history?
Winsted is more historic than 58% 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 Winsted?
One place: the Winsted City Hall (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Winsted?
20% of Winsted’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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