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History · Ashland

26% of Ashland’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ashland’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Ashland’s past

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

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1909, drew every building in Ashland.Boom and bustPeaked at 13,074 in 1900; 7,908 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ashland, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersJohn Szarkowski, Jennifer Ouellette and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Every building

Ashland, building by building, 1884–1909

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.

Ashland fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Ashland, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 13,074

Peaked at 13,074 in 1900; 7,908 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, North York, opened and closed inside today’s town.

High Bridge
1887–today
North York
1907–1912
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
High BridgeMinersvilleNorth York

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

The story

How Ashland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ashland.

Read it all →

Eight Native American tribes lived on Chequamegon Bay. Later settlers included European explorers, missionaries and fur traders, and more recently, Yankees from the eastern United States who platted and developed the lands, railroaders, shippers, loggers, entrepreneurs, and other settlers. Four flags have flown over the area around Ashland from colonial to contemporary times: Spanish, French, English and American.

The area was part of the United States' Northwest Territory. This region was divided into four successive territories for administration before becoming part of the state of Wisconsin: Indiana Territory, Michigan Territory, Illinois Territory, and Wisconsin Territory.

ChaptersPre-settlementSettlementTar and feather attacks during World War IDates of noteOre dock

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ashland, 1880 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archiveAshland, sunset across the river
  3. 1887Post officeThe High Bridge post office opens
  4. 1890In the archiveAshland, Lake Superior, Wis. 1890
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 13,074
  7. 1907Post officeThe North York post office opens
  8. 1912Post officeThe North York post office closes
  9. 1925Born hereJohn Szarkowski is born here
  10. 1958Born hereJohn Gordon is born here
  11. 1964Born hereJennifer Ouellette is born here
  12. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1986Born hereRobin Greenfield is born here
By decade

Ashland, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s8 items
Ashland, sunset across the river1880Ashland, sunset across the riverMap of Ashland Harbor, Wisconsin1885Map of Ashland Harbor, WisconsinMapMap of Ashland Harbor, Wisconsin1885Map of Ashland Harbor, WisconsinBookA bird's eye view of the city of Ashland, Wis., county seat of Ashland County 18861886A bird's eye view of the city of Ashland, Wis., count…Ashland, Lake Superior, Wis. 18901890Ashland, Lake Superior, Wis. 1890Benjamin G Armstrong 18921892Benjamin G Armstrong 1892Untitled photo1893Untitled photoAshland, Wisconsin1898Ashland, Wisconsin
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
On the map

Ashland on the map, 1967 to 1984

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

Ashland on the 1967 USGS mapAshland on the 1984 USGS map1967Mellen 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 Ashland.

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.

Ashland, sunset across the river
Retake this viewAshland, sunset across the river, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

13 famous people were born in Ashland

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

See all →
J
John SzarkowskiAmerican curator · b. 1925
Jennifer OuelletteAmerican science writer · b. 1964
Robin GreenfieldAmerican activist and adventurer · b. 1986
J
John GordonAmerican curler · b. 1958
B
Bob BlakeAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1914
J
Jack HallAmerican labor organizer and trade unionist · b. 1915
Help out

Finish Ashland’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAshland, sunset across the river: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Morse1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarengoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJolmavilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSanbornIts storyC−White RiverIts storyC

Questions about Ashland’s history

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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (9), 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.