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History · Ashby

Ashby’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Ashby. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
12recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Ashby was platted in 1879, and named for Gunder Ash, an early Norwegian settler. Roughly half the city's population is of Norwegian heritage. A post office has been in operation at Ashby since 1880.

On July 8, 2020, areas north of Ashby were struck by a violent EF4 tornado. It killed one person and destroyed three farmsteads.

In 2021, there was an 80-car pileup on Interstate 94 near Ashby.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Ashby’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Ashby

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CICarl M. IversonPolitics & Law
By decade

Ashby, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today12 photos
Brew HouseCommonsBrew House2022Ashby, Minnesota 08CommonsAshby, Minnesota 082022Ashby, Minnesota 07CommonsAshby, Minnesota 072022Ashby, Minnesota 06CommonsAshby, Minnesota 062022Ashby, Minnesota 05CommonsAshby, Minnesota 052022Ashby, Minnesota 04CommonsAshby, Minnesota 042022Ashby, Minnesota 03CommonsAshby, Minnesota 032022Ashby, Minnesota 02CommonsAshby, Minnesota 022022Ashby, Minnesota 01CommonsAshby, Minnesota 012022Ashby Co-op Creamery AssociationCommonsAshby Co-op Creamery Association2022American LegionCommonsAmerican Legion2022MNMap-doton-AshbyCommonsMNMap-doton-Ashby2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Ashby is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ashby has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Scofield, Anna J. Memorial Auditorium and Harold E. Thorson Memorial Library in Elbow Lake, 10.3 miles away.

Ashby and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Ashby. Tap a dot.
Scofield, Anna J. Memorial Auditorium and Harold E. Thorson Memorial LibraryGrant County CourthouseRoosevelt HallOle and Anne Foss HouseFirst Baptist ChurchBrandon Auditorium and Fire Hall

Closest to Ashby

Scofield, Anna J. Memorial Auditorium and Harold E. Thorson Memorial LibraryElbow Lake · Building10.3miGrant County CourthouseElbow Lake · Building10.3miRoosevelt HallBarrett · Building13.2miOle and Anne Foss HouseUnderwood · Building13.5miFirst Baptist ChurchBattle Lake · Building13.8mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Scofield, Anna J. Memorial Auditorium and Harold E. Thorson Memorial Library’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ashby?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ashby’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Pelican Lake📜 St. Olaf📜 Lund📜 Pomme de Terre

From Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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