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History · Hawkins

Hawkins’ post office opened in 1888, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1930.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hawkins began

When was Hawkins founded?

1888

The Hawkins post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 372 in 19302020 census: 331138 years
Founding year: the first Hawkins post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hawkins’ 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 Hawkins are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 496 in 1940; 331 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Hawkins’ homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hawkins’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hawkins’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hawkins, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 496

Peaked at 496 in 1940; 331 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Hawkins came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hawkins.

Read it all →

Before the railroad came, the area around Hawkins was forested, cut by Main Creek and its tributaries, with swamp in the lowlands along those branches. In 1884 the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (the Soo Line) built its line through the area, aiming to connect the grain of the Twin Cities with the shipping at Sault Ste. Marie. The railroad created a station near where it crossed the south fork of Main Creek, which became Hawkins.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hawkins, 1888 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Hawkins post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 496
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Hawkins on the map, 1971 to 1980

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

Hawkins on the 1971 USGS mapHawkins on the 1980 USGS map1971Hawkins sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Hawkins

Nobody well known was born in Hawkins itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ron KovicAnti-war activist · b. 1946
Lois CappsAmerican politician and writer · b. 1938
Jim LeonhardAmerican football player and coach · b. 1982
B
Beverley AndersonAmerican alpine skier · b. 1938
M
Mark HayesAmerican composer · b. 1953
M
Mike NewkirkPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hawkins’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverside Estates
1cemetery inside Hawkins
Hillcrest

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

Questions about Hawkins’ history

What year was Hawkins founded?

The Hawkins post office opened in 1888, 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 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.