The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Staples developed around a sawmill. The settlement was originally called Staples Mill, and under the latter name was platted in 1889, and named for Samuel and Isaac Staples, businessmen in the lumber industry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Staples’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Staples’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Staples
See all 8 →
By decade
Staples, 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 album
National Register of Historic Places
2 historic places in Staples
2 places in Staples are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
#132
In Minnesotaby listings · most towns there have none
2places listed2 buildings
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
3historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
2004first listedBatcher Opera House Block · newest: Northern Pacific Railway Depot and Freighthouse, 2008
Where they are
Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Buildings
When they were listed
The Register began in 1966.
60s
70s
80s
90s
200s
10s
20s
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.