Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Arland

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Arland

Arland’s post office opened in 1896, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and old-book passages.

1896first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Arland began

When was Arland founded?

1896

The Arland post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 712130 years
Founding year: the first Arland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Arland’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Arland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Arland, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Arland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Arland is a town in Barron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 712 at the 2020 census, down from 789 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Twin Town is located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1896. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 789 to 712 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Arland in 1922

Passages that mention Arland, cut from the printed page as they were published.

interest in a farm. He also followed his trade of stone mason for several years, though not altogether in that locality, as in 1898 he came to Barron County, locating near the village of Arland, where he resided for a year. In 1894 he bought 80 acres in Section 21, Arland Township, and in 1899 in¬ …
History of Barron County Wisconsin1922 · page 904Read the page →
Read the text

interest in a farm. He also followed his trade of stone mason for several years, though not altogether in that locality, as in 1898 he came to Barron County, locating near the village of Arland, where he resided for a year. In 1894 he bought 80 acres in Section 21, Arland Township, and in 1899 in¬ creased his landed possessions by the purchase of 40 acres of railroad land.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
he came to Barron County, and bought 80 acres in Section 19, Clinton Town¬ ship. He cleared up the land, erected a set of buildings, developed a good farm, and there carried on agricultural operations for twelve years. In 1916 he purchased 40 acres in section 33, Clinton Township, and 80 acres in A…
History of Barron County Wisconsin1922 · page 415Read the page →
Read the text

he came to Barron County, and bought 80 acres in Section 19, Clinton Town¬ ship. He cleared up the land, erected a set of buildings, developed a good farm, and there carried on agricultural operations for twelve years. In 1916 he purchased 40 acres in section 33, Clinton Township, and 80 acres in Arland Township, and in 1890 he bought 88 acres in Section 4, Arland Township. This place was partly improved. He has fixed over the house, and installed modern conveniences such as electric lights. He has put up a barn, 40 by 80 feet, with an addition 24 by 32 for horses, and furnished with the James

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

Arland, 1896 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Arland post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Arland post office closes
  5. 1950On 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 album
On the map

Arland on the map, 1950 to 1978

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

Arland on the 1950 USGS mapArland on the 1978 USGS map1950Turtle Lake 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 Arland.

Famous people

Famous people close to Arland

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

See all →
Gaylord NelsonAmerican politician · b. 1916
Dick LaneAmerican actor and television announcer · b. 1899
Henry EllensonAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
J
John PetersonOlympic wrestler · b. 1948
John G. Blystone1892–1938; American film director · b. 1892
D
David HansonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1954
Places that used to be

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

Arland had its own post office from 1896 to 1906.

Arland
1896–1906
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Twin Town
Gone or out of use
Anderson SchoolschoolBreen SchoolschoolColumbus SchoolschoolDorits SchoolschoolFourtown Junction SchoolschoolLiberty SchoolschoolLongfellow Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Arland
Arland Independent

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.

Maple GroveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie FarmIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTurtle LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClintonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Arland’s history

What year was Arland founded?

The Arland post office opened in 1896, 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 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.