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History · Big Bend

Half of Big Bend’s homes were built after 1993

Most of Big Bend was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1972 on.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Big Bend’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Big Bend’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Bend’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMartin Inn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Big Bend, in brief

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

Big Bend is a town in Rusk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 423 as of the 2023 US census. The unincorporated community of Island Lake is located in the town.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 358 to 401 (+12%).

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

Timeline

Big Bend, 1892 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Island Lake post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1933Post officeThe Island Lake post office closes
  5. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Big Bend, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Martin InnDate?Martin InnJesse Smith Cobblestone InnDate?Jesse Smith Cobblestone Inn
On the map

Big Bend on the map, 1972 to 1980

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

Big Bend on the 1972 USGS mapBig Bend on the 1980 USGS map1972Fireside Lakes 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 Big Bend.

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.

Martin Inn
Retake this viewMartin Inn

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Big Bend

Nobody well known was born in Big Bend 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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Island Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Island Lake
Gone or out of use
North Lima SchoolschoolSoft Maple Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Big Bend
Island LakeMud Lake

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.

Washington1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRuskIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStubbsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSampsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Big Bend’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 the Library of Congress (2), 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.