The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Nelson was originally called Dent, after settler Richard Dent, and under the latter name was founded circa 1875. The present name is for Knute Nelson, a prominent citizen and United States Senator from Minnesota. A post office was established as Dent in 1880, and in 1881 the name was changed to Nelson.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Nelson’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nelson’s history is told.
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By decade
Nelson, decade by decade
Before
2000
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 albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Nelson is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Nelson has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Knute Nelson House in Alexandria, 4.9 miles away.
Nelson and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Nelson. Tap a dot.
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. Knute Nelson House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Nelson?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Nelson’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational 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.