Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #27 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.
The Minden post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Minden is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #27 of 57 in Nebraska. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Minden’s 9.7 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Minden’s history is told.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1889Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Minden.
Minden was established in 1876. The city was named after Minden, in Germany. Minden was originally built up chiefly by Germans. The city has had a post office since 1876.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereOtto Miller is born here
BuiltW. T. Thorne Building is built
Born hereCarl Curtis is born here
BuiltKearney County Courthouse is built
Born hereNorbert Tiemann is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20222022-09-11 15 59 48 Aerial view southward across cent…
2021A vintage barn near Minden, Nebraska
2021A vintage barn near Minden, Nebraska
2021A cornfield near Minden, Nebraska
2017Minden, NE
2010Minden, Nebraska NE corner 5th and Colorado
2010Minden, Nebraska Daylight Doughnut Shop
2005NEMap-doton-MindenEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Minden. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Minden.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 98 people in 1880 to 3,118 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Minden’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Minden’s post office has been open since 1876.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Minden post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Minden is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #27 of 57 in Nebraska. 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.
Three places: the W. T. Thorne Building (listed 1985), the Kearney County Courthouse (1990) and the US Post Office-Minden (1992).
27% of Minden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1965.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
