The story so far
Adrian, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Adrian yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 762 to 733 (-4%).
–Not graded
History · Adrian
13% of Adrian’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1916 on and old-book passages.
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Adrian’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Adrian’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Adrian’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Adrian on the map, 1916 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Adrian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1916Tomah sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Adrian.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Adrian in 1912
Passages that mention Adrian, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monroe County Wisconsin1912 · page 352Read the page →
Read the text
As early as 1854 W. W. Jackson and Webster Kenyon, with several others, settled in the town of Adrian, at a point which they afterwards called Jacksonville. Two years afterwards Gillett built a sawmill in the northern part of the village of Tomah, which was run for him by Jackson and Kenyon.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monroe County Wisconsin1912 · page 71Read the page →
Read the text
sisting of James Thomson, J. Caney, D. Homes, W. Woodard and J..B. Marsden, were appointed to carry it out. The committee reported at the November session the purchase of the farm of David Cole of 200 acres, situated in the town of Adrian, for the sum of $5,000. This continued to be used as the poor farm until 1899, but it being some distance from the county seat and the buildings being too small for the growing pauper population the county board authorized its sale, and in 1899 it was disposed
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, past and present1912 · page 503Read the page →
Read the text
In 1854, at the first meeting of the board at which anything was done with reference to dividing the county into townships, the county board created five towns, includiug the town of Adrian, it being set off at the same time as Angelo, Sparta and 503
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, past and present1912 · page 474Read the page →
Read the text
Jackson believed that the line would come through the town of Adrian in order to avoid tunneling the ridge at what is now Tunnel City; in fact, the engineers of the company contemplated this route for some time, as there is a natural pass through the dividing ridge which would obviate the necessity for a tunnel.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Adrian, 1856 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1856Post officeThe Jacksonville post office opens
- 1860Post officeThe Jacksonville post office closes
- 20th century
- 1916
On 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.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Adrian
Nobody well known was born in Adrian itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
R
Robert Herman FlockAmerican Roman-Catholic bishop working in Boliv… · b. 1956
B
Barbara GronemusAmerican politician · b. 1931Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Jacksonville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
JacksonvilleScotts Junction
1cemetery inside Adrian
County
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Adrian’s history
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.