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History · Ahnapee

Ahnapee dates to 1873, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1894 on.

1873founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mimich · Public domain
Quick answers

How Ahnapee began

When was Ahnapee founded?

1873

Ahnapee dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1886.

2020 census: 870153 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ahnapee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ahnapee, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ahnapee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rankin
1886–1902
Kodan
1893–1904
Woodside
1899–1902
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BruemmervilleKodanRankin
Gone or out of use
Silver Creek Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ahnapee
Saint JohnsSaint PaulWoodside

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Ahnapee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ahnapee.

Read it all →

The name Ahnapee is of Ojibwe origin. It is derived from anin api ("when").

The first settlers of the area came from Manitowoc in 1851, the town's first mill and store opened in 1855, and regular river travel from the port started in 1856. The village of Ahnapee was incorporated in 1873, and got its first mayor in 1879, Samuel Perry. The village (and later city) of Ahnapee was renamed "Algoma" in 1897. The region's first newspaper, The Ahnapee Record, was established in 1873. A rail line first reached the town in 1882.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ahnapee, 1861 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Born hereMoses Shaw is born here
  3. 1873
    FoundingAhnapee is established
  4. 1876In the archiveMap of Ahnepee Harbor and River, Wisconsin
  5. 1886Post officeThe Rankin post office opens
  6. 1892In the archive1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table
  7. 1893Post officeThe Kodan post office opens
  8. 1899Post officeThe Woodside post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe Rankin post office closes
  11. 1902Post officeThe Woodside post office closes
  12. 1904Post officeThe Kodan post office closes
  13. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ahnapee, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s2 items
Map of Ahnepee Harbor and River, Wisconsin1876Map of Ahnepee Harbor and River, WisconsinMap1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table18921892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table
1900s–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
Today6 recent
Aerial view of the southeastern town of Brussels, the southwestern town of Forestville, the northeastern town of Lincol…2020Aerial view of the southeastern town of Brussels, the…Aerial view of part of the southern town of Forestville and part of the northern town of Ahnapee in Door and Kewaunee c…2020Aerial view of part of the southern town of Forestvil…Aerial view of far southwestern town of Forestville, part of southern Clay Banks, and part of the northern town of Ahna…2020Aerial view of far southwestern town of Forestville, …View from County Trunk S, Rankin, Wisconsin2013View from County Trunk S, Rankin, WisconsinAhnapee2009AhnapeeWIMap-doton-Ahnapee2004WIMap-doton-Ahnapee
On the map

Ahnapee on the map, 1960 to 1982

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

Ahnapee on the 1960 USGS mapAhnapee on the 1982 USGS map1960Algoma sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ahnapee.

Every building

Ahnapee, building by building, 1894

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Ahnapee fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table
Retake this view1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table, 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Algoma3 historic placesALincolnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townForestvilleIts storyB−Clay BanksIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ahnapee’s history

What year was Ahnapee founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ahnapee’s post office opened in 1886.

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 (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.