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History · La Crosse

La Crosse’s post office opened in 1866, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1930.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From La Crosse’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How La Crosse began

When was La Crosse founded?

1866

The La Crosse post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 568 in 19302020 census: 555160 years
Founding year: the first La Crosse post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about La Crosse’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of La Crosse’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · The story

How La Crosse came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of La Crosse.

Read it all →

La Crosse is derived from the French meaning "the crossing", and it was so named from its location at the junction or crossing of five railroads. The five railroads were:

Chicago and Indiana Coal Railway (later the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and the Chicago, Attica and Southern)

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (later the Pennsylvania Railroad)

Since 2004, La Crosse has been the headquarters of the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad, which owns portions of former C&O and Pere Marquette trackage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

La Crosse, 1866 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe La Crosse post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveLacrosse IN Apr 4 1910
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

La Crosse, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
Lacrosse IN Apr 4 19101910Lacrosse IN Apr 4 1910PostcardLaCrosse IND Apr 4 19101910LaCrosse IND Apr 4 1910LOC 6a04222u 1915 LaCrosse, Ind., 1915, (N)1915LOC 6a04222u 1915 LaCrosse, Ind., 1915, (N)La Crosse, Ind., 19151915La Crosse, Ind., 1915La Crosse, Ind., 1915, (north)1915La Crosse, Ind., 1915, (north)
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today27 recent
Methodist Church, 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana2024Methodist Church, 1908 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardMethodist Church, 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana (cropped)2024Methodist Church, 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana (cropped)PostcardGreetings from LaCrosse, Indiana, 1947 - LaCrosse , Indiana2024Greetings from LaCrosse, Indiana, 1947 - LaCrosse , I…PostcardTrack 17192021Track 1719Old Path UBC 62822021Old Path UBC 6282Monon Line 57772021Monon Line 5777Library 17182021Library 1718LaPorte State Bank Bldg 62812021LaPorte State Bank Bldg 6281LaCrosse 57842021LaCrosse 5784LaCrosse 57832021LaCrosse 5783High School 17202021High School 1720Christian Church 62862021Christian Church 6286Christian Church 62852021Christian Church 6285Christian Church 62842021Christian Church 6284Apostolic Christian Church 62832021Apostolic Christian Church 6283Methodist Church, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, Indiana2020Methodist Church, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardHouse at Michigan Street and Main Street, 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana2017House at Michigan Street and Main Street, 1908 - LaCr…PostcardBird's Eye View, 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana2015Bird's Eye View, 1908 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardBird's Eye View Looking Southwest of School Tower, circa 1908 - LaCrosse, Indiana2015Bird's Eye View Looking Southwest of School Tower, ci…PostcardWashington and Main in2013Washington and Main inAn American Legion member renders honors during the funeral for U.S. Army Spc. Robert Tauteris Jr 120115-A-MG787-0652012An American Legion member renders honors during the f…A U.S. Soldier plays taps during the funeral for Army Spc. Robert Tauteris Jr 120115-A-MG787-0872012A U.S. Soldier plays taps during the funeral for Army…South Washington Street, 1907 - LaCrosse, Indiana2010South Washington Street, 1907 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardM. E. Annex, 1921 - LaCrosse, Indiana2010M. E. Annex, 1921 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardKankakee River, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, Indiana2010Kankakee River, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardGame Preserve, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, Indiana2010Game Preserve, circa 1935 - LaCrosse, IndianaPostcardUS-IN-LaCrosse2005US-IN-LaCrosse
On the map

La Crosse on the map, 1958 to 1984

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

La Crosse on the 1958 USGS mapLa Crosse on the 1984 USGS map1958La Crosse 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 La Crosse.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Lacrosse IN Apr 4 1910
Retake this viewLacrosse IN Apr 4 1910, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on La Crosse’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

La Crosse, census by census

010020030040050060070019401960198020002020Peak: 713

Between 551 and 713 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to La Crosse

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

See all →
Mark N. BrownFormer NASA astronaut and colonel in the USAF · b. 1951
Robbie HummelAmerican basketball player · b. 1989
Harry BenhamAmerican actor · b. 1884
Henry F. SchrickerAmerican politician · b. 1883
C
Carole PankauAmerican politician · b. 1947
E
Ed HanyzewskiAmerican baseball player · b. 1920
Help out

Finish La Crosse’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLacrosse IN Apr 4 1910: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about La Crosse’s history

What year was La Crosse founded?

The La Crosse post office opened in 1866, 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 Wikimedia Commons (30), the Library of Congress (2), 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.