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–Not graded
History · Howard

23% of Howard’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1990.

0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Howard’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 Howard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Howard, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Howard’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Craft
1885–1886
Albertville
1892–1934
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Albertville
Gone or out of use
Elk Creek SchoolschoolEverson SchoolschoolFrazier SchoolschoolLoew Schoolschool

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

The story

How Howard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Howard.

Read it all →

The town was named for Brigadier General Benjamin Howard, an officer in the War of 1812.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Howard, 1885 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Craft post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Craft post office closes
  4. 1892Post officeThe Albertville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1934Post officeThe Albertville post office closes
  7. 1934On 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.
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On the map

Howard on the map, 1934 to 1972

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

Howard on the 1934 USGS mapHoward on the 1972 USGS map1934Elk Mound 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 Howard.

People over time

Howard, census by census

020040060080020002020Peak: 798

Between 625 and 798 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Howard

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

See all →
Seymour CrayApplied mathematician, computer scientist, and … · b. 1925
Roderick StrongAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1983
Justin VernonAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1981
G
George N. Gillett, Jr.American businessman · b. 1938
Alexander WileyAmerican politician · b. 1884
Stanley BlystoneActor · b. 1894
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ColfaxIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWheatonIts storyC+Cooks ValleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTildenIts storyC−

Questions about Howard’s history

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.