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AHistory
History · Black River Falls

Black River Falls’ post office opened in 1849, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #40 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.

1849first post office
4on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Black River Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Black River Falls began

When was Black River Falls founded?

1849

The Black River Falls post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 570 in 18602020 census: 3,523177 years

How historic is Black River Falls?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Black River Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Black River Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Black River Falls is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #40 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Black River Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.7% of homes (±7.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 41 historic buildings, 116 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 89%

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 Black River Falls’ 116 sits above most of its state (95% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Black River Falls’ past

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

A historic districtThe Black River Falls Commercial Historic District takes in 37 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1914, drew every building in Black River Falls.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Black River Falls.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1984. Watch Black River Falls change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 41 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
41
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Union High School
Union High SchoolBlack River Falls Public Library, built 1914Black River Falls Commercial Historic DistrictFranklin E. and Eva E. Keefe House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Union High SchoolVictorian
Black River Falls Public LibraryLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1914
All 4 listings
Black River Falls Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2021Franklin E. and Eva E. Keefe HouseBuilding · listed 2023

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

Every building

Black River Falls, building by building, 1884–1914

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.

Black River Falls fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Timeline

Black River Falls, 1849 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Black River Falls post office opens
  3. 1859Born hereHugh H. Price is born here
  4. 1880In the archiveBlack River Falls, Wisconsin
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereFroelich Rainey is born here
  7. 1908In the archiveThe Falls
  8. 1909Born hereErnie Rudolph is born here
  9. 1914BuiltBlack River Falls Public Library is built
  10. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Black River Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Black River Falls.

Read it all →

A large monument to Black River Falls' veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as to local Medal of Honor recipient Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr., was erected near the Chamber of Commerce Building at 101 S. 2nd Street. Named the "Field of Honor", the attached plaques provide accounts of the veterans' services. This site is also the start of the four-mile (6.5 km) Foundation Trail, a signed hiking and bike path that circles the eastern part of the community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Black River Falls, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s11 items
Black River Falls, Wisconsin1880Black River Falls, WisconsinBlack River Falls, Wis., railroad crossing1880Black River Falls, Wis., railroad crossingThe Falls1908The FallsPower station1908Power stationBoat landing1908Boat landingGerman Hill1908German HillThe Grade School1908The Grade SchoolThe High School1908The High SchoolThe Norwegian Church1908The Norwegian ChurchM.E. Church1908M.E. ChurchThe Court House1908The Court House
1910s–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

Black River Falls on the map, 1924 to 1984

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

Black River Falls on the 1924 USGS mapBlack River Falls on the 1968 USGS mapBlack River Falls on the 1984 USGS map1924Black River Falls 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 Black River Falls.

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.

Black River Falls, Wisconsin
Retake this viewBlack River Falls, Wisconsin, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Black River Falls, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000190019502000Peak: 3,622

Between 570 and 3,622 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Black River Falls’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Black River Falls

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

See all →
Hugh H. PriceAmerican politician · b. 1859
E
Ernie RudolphAmerican baseball player · b. 1909
F
Froelich RaineyAmerican anthropologist · b. 1907
M
Matt WingardAmerican politician
P
Phil HaugstadAmerican baseball player · b. 1924
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Black River Falls’s post office has been open since 1849.

Gone or out of use
Black River Falls Grade SchoolschoolBlack River Falls Junior High SchoolschoolFirst Church of Christ ScientistchurchJackson County AirportairportNorwegian Evangelical Lutheran Churchchurch

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

Help out

Finish Black River Falls’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlack River Falls, Wisconsin: 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.

AdamsIts storyDBrockwayIts storyC−Albion1 historic placeA

Questions about Black River Falls’ history

What year was Black River Falls founded?

The Black River Falls post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Black River Falls rank for history?

Black River Falls is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #40 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 Black River Falls?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Union High School (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Black River Falls Commercial Historic District, with 37 contributing buildings. 41 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Black River Falls?

19% of Black River Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 the Library of Congress (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.