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–Not graded
History · Atlanta

Atlanta’s post office opened in 1902, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1972 on.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Atlanta began

When was Atlanta founded?

1902

The Atlanta post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 560124 years
Founding year: the first Atlanta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Atlanta’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 Atlanta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Atlanta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Atlanta’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

Atlanta, in brief

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

Atlanta is a town in Rusk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 560 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Imalone is located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 592 to 560 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Atlanta, 1902 to 1972

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Atlanta post office opens
  3. 1918Post officeThe Atlanta post office closes
  4. 1972On 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

Atlanta on the map, 1972 to 1980

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

Atlanta on the 1972 USGS mapAtlanta on the 1980 USGS map1972Becky Creek sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Atlanta

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

See all →
Ron KovicAnti-war activist · b. 1946
Lois CappsAmerican politician and writer · b. 1938
Jim LeonhardAmerican football player and coach · b. 1982
J. B. Van HollenAmerican lawyer · b. 1966
B
Beverley AndersonAmerican alpine skier · b. 1938
M
Mark HayesAmerican composer · b. 1953
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Atlanta had its own post office from 1902 to 1918.

Atlanta
1902–1918
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Blue Hills ChurchchurchBlue Hills SchoolschoolLone Elm SchoolschoolSentinel Ash SchoolschoolSunny Hill Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Atlanta
Blue HillsSaint Marys

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.

ThornappleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStubbsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMurryIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilkinsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBruceIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Atlanta’s history

What year was Atlanta founded?

The Atlanta post office opened in 1902, 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.