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–Not graded
History · Boscobel

12% of Boscobel’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.

0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boscobel’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Boscobel’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1912, drew every building in Boscobel.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boscobel’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co.,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Boscobel, building by building, 1884–1912

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.

Boscobel fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story so far

Boscobel, in brief

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

Boscobel ( BOSS-koh-bel) is a city in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2020 census. Approximately 0.6 mi. (1 km) to the north of the city, across a riparian swamp, is the Wisconsin River. U.S. Route 61 crosses the Wisconsin River at Boscobel. To the south, the city is bordered by the Town of Boscobel. Boscobel was the site of a stop along the now defunct Milwaukee Road, and it is still served by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. It is also the site of the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (WSPF), a Wisconsin Department of Corrections prison for men. Businesses include the historic Central House Hotel, the birthplace of Gideons International.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 376 in 2010, 379 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Boscobel, 1881–1900

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

gard to toll, we copy a section of the law authorizing the city of Boscobel to bridge the Wisconsin River : "Section 4. All funds arising from tolls or from the use of said bridge shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the city of Boscobel, at least once in each month, and shall be kept by him sepa…
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 783Read the page →
Read the text

gard to toll, we copy a section of the law authorizing the city of Boscobel to bridge the Wisconsin River : "Section 4. All funds arising from tolls or from the use of said bridge shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the city of Boscobel, at least once in each month, and shall be kept by him separate and apart from all other funds, and shall not be paid out except upon orders drawn upon that specific fund. The funds arising from the toll or the use of such bridge, after paying for the care and maintenance thereof, shall be applied as follows : First, to pay the interest upon said city bonds, and thereafter to redeem said bonds as fast as said funds will allow."

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Church of the Immaculate Conception.— The first mass was cele¬ brated at Boscobel in 1861 in a log cabin belonging to a man named Smith, near the railroad station. The present church was built in 1872. Boscobel is a mission attached to Fennimore. The congrega¬ tion is small and the building and mai…
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 680Read the page →
Read the text

Church of the Immaculate Conception.— The first mass was cele¬ brated at Boscobel in 1861 in a log cabin belonging to a man named Smith, near the railroad station. The present church was built in 1872. Boscobel is a mission attached to Fennimore. The congrega¬ tion is small and the building and maintenance of the church have been a heavy burden. The names of the rectors will be found in the history of the church at Fennimore.

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

Boscobel, 1869 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co., Wisconsin 1869
  3. 1869Born hereNathan Crook Twining is born here
  4. 1870Born hereSamuel Hof is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveBoscobelHighSchool1900
  7. 1915Born hereOtey Clark is born here
  8. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1939In the archiveBoscobel, Wisconsin
  10. 1952Born herePhilip Bohlman is born here
By decade

Boscobel, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co., Wisconsin 18691869Bird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co., Wisconsin 1869
1900s–1930s2 items
BoscobelHighSchool19001900BoscobelHighSchool1900Boscobel, Wisconsin1939Boscobel, Wisconsin
1940s–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

Boscobel on the map, 1933 to 1983

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

Boscobel on the 1933 USGS mapBoscobel on the 1967 USGS mapBoscobel on the 1983 USGS map1933Boscobel 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 Boscobel.

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.

Bird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co., Wisconsin 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Boscobel, Grant Co., Wisconsin 1869, 1869

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Boscobel, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020203,286

Grew from 1,509 people in 1870 to 3,286 in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Boscobel

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

See all →
Philip BohlmanAmerican academic · b. 1952
Nathan Crook TwiningUnited States Navy Rear Admiral · b. 1869
O
Otey ClarkAmerican baseball player · b. 1915
Samuel HofUnited States Army major general · b. 1870
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MariettaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWatterstownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarionIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Boscobel’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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.