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AHistory
History · Algoma

Algoma dates to 1834, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #61 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Dettman, Art, Fishing Shanty, the Ahnapee Brewery and the Melvin W. and Mary Perry House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1834founded
3on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Algoma’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Algoma began

When was Algoma founded?

1834

Algoma dates its founding to 1834 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 948 in 18802020 census: 3,243192 years

How historic is Algoma?

A

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Algoma’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Algoma is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #61 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Algoma’s overall grade.
Founding era1834, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.3% of homes (±6.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 9.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 83%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Algoma’s 9.3 sits above most of its state (76% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1834.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Algoma’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1834: 192 years of Algoma.Old housesHalf of Algoma’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Algoma’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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
Timeline

Algoma, 1834 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834
    FoundingAlgoma is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Ahnapee post office opens
  4. 1869BuiltAhnapee Brewery is built
  5. 1892In the archive1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table
  6. 1897Post officeThe Ahnapee post office closes
  7. 1897Post officeThe Algoma post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1909BuiltMelvin W. and Mary Perry House is built
  10. 1914Born hereRichard W. Fellows is born here
  11. 1923Born hereMark Francis Schmitt is born here
  12. 1935BuiltDettman, Art, Fishing Shanty is built
  13. 1943Born hereEd Waterstreet is born here
  14. 1960In the archiveAlgoma Wisconsin view from the river
  15. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1992In the archiveGary's Hardware, fishing tackle sign, 2nd and Navarino
The story

How Algoma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Algoma.

Read it all →

The Ahnapee settlement, which eventually became known as Algoma, was founded in 1834 by Joseph McCormick of Manitowoc. In 1851, Irish and English pioneers moved to the area and called the place Wolf River. The wolf was a legendary animal in stories told by the local Potawatomi Indians. (This animal eventually became the mascot of the Algoma High School.) In the Menominee language, the town is known as Ākem, meaning "snowshoe".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Algoma, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
1892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table18921892 Ahnapee and Western Time Table
1900s–1950snothing 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
1960s–1990s2 items
Algoma Wisconsin view from the river1960Algoma Wisconsin view from the riverGary's Hardware, fishing tackle sign, 2nd and Navarino1992Gary's Hardware, fishing tackle sign, 2nd and Navarino
Today18 recent
Gfp-wisconsin-algoma-red-sunset-over-the-harbor2015Gfp-wisconsin-algoma-red-sunset-over-the-harborGfp-Wisconsin-algoma-houses-in-the-harbor2015Gfp-Wisconsin-algoma-houses-in-the-harborGfp-Wisconsin-algoma-harbor-at-dusk2015Gfp-Wisconsin-algoma-harbor-at-duskGfp-Wisconsin-algoma-dusk-in-the-harbor2015Gfp-Wisconsin-algoma-dusk-in-the-harborGfp-Wisconsin-algoma-beautiful-sunset 8002015Gfp-Wisconsin-algoma-beautiful-sunset 800Algoma, WI2015Algoma, WIAlgoma Wisconsin Public Library2014Algoma Wisconsin Public LibraryWelcome to2013Welcome toMelvinWMaryPerryHouseAlgomaWisconsin2010MelvinWMaryPerryHouseAlgomaWisconsinArtDettmanFishingShantyAlgomaWisconsin2010ArtDettmanFishingShantyAlgomaWisconsinAhnapeeBreweryVonStiehlWineryAlgomaWisconsin2010AhnapeeBreweryVonStiehlWineryAlgomaWisconsinAlgomaWisconsinDowntown1WIS422009AlgomaWisconsinDowntown1WIS42Algoma, Wisconsin2009Algoma, WisconsinAlgoma Tower2009Algoma TowerWIS54EastTerminus2006WIS54EastTerminusAlgomaWisconsin22006AlgomaWisconsin2AlgomaWisconsin2006AlgomaWisconsinISS006-E-335792003ISS006-E-33579
On the map

Algoma on the map, 1960 to 1982

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

Algoma on the 1960 USGS mapAlgoma 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 Algoma.

Every building

Algoma, building by building, 1900–1909

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 year, then a sheet.

Algoma fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
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 Algoma’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Algoma

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Dettman, Art, Fishing Shanty
Dettman, Art, Fishing Shanty, built 1935Ahnapee Brewery, built 1869Melvin W. and Mary Perry House, built 1909
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Mid 19th Century1
Colonial Revival1
Dettman, Art, Fishing ShantyVernacular · Built 1935
Ahnapee BreweryMid 19th Century · Built 1869
Melvin W. and Mary Perry HouseColonial Revival · Built 1909

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Algoma, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,023

Between 948 and 4,023 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Algoma

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
M
Mark Francis SchmittCatholic bishop · b. 1923
E
Ed WaterstreetAmerican artistic director · b. 1943
R
Richard W. FellowsRecipient of the Silver Star · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Algoma’s post office has been open since 1897. Another post office, Ahnapee, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ahnapee
1858–1897
Algoma
1897–today
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Algoma
EvergreenSaint Mary's Catholic

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.

AhnapeeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Algoma’s history

What year was Algoma founded?

In 1834, according to Wikidata. Algoma’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 948 people here.

How does Algoma rank for history?

Algoma is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #61 of 362 in Wisconsin. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Algoma?

Three places: the Dettman, Art, Fishing Shanty (listed 1993), the Ahnapee Brewery (1994) and the Melvin W. and Mary Perry House (2008).

How old are the homes in Algoma?

22% of Algoma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1957.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.