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BHistory
History · Brillion

Brillion’s post office opened in 1855, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #149 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Stanelle, Gottlieb and Beata, Farmhouse. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.

1855first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Brillion began

When was Brillion founded?

1855

The Brillion post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 278 in 18802020 census: 3,262171 years

How historic is Brillion?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Brillion post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Brillion’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brillion is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #149 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brillion’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.7% of homes (±10.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3.0 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 59%

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 Brillion’s 3.0 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.5 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 Brillion’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 Brillion are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1913, drew every building in Brillion.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brillion’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brillion’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
Every building

Brillion, building by building, 1894–1913

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.

Brillion fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 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.

The story so far

Brillion, in brief

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

Brillion ( BRIL-yən) is a city in Calumet County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,262 as of the 2020 census. The city is located within the Town of Brillion, though it is politically independent.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,148 to 3,262 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Brillion, 1855 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Brillion post office opens
  3. 1877Born hereEda Nemoede Casterton is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brillion, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Brillion Iron Works2019Brillion Iron WorksEconofoods in Brillon2016Econofoods in BrillonBrillion Wisconsin Public Library2013Brillion Wisconsin Public LibraryBrillion Wisconsin Downtown Looking North2013Brillion Wisconsin Downtown Looking NorthBrillion Wisconsin City Hall2013Brillion Wisconsin City Hall2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookBrillionWisconsin22006BrillionWisconsin2BrillionWisconsin12006BrillionWisconsin1BrillionHighSchool2006BrillionHighSchoolWIMap-doton-Brillion2004WIMap-doton-Brillion
On the map

Brillion on the map, 1954 to 1992

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

Brillion on the 1954 USGS mapBrillion on the 1974 USGS mapBrillion on the 1992 USGS map1954Chilton 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 Brillion.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Brillion

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
Stanelle, Gottlieb and Beata, Farmhouse
All 1 listings
Stanelle, Gottlieb and Beata, FarmhouseBuilding · listed 2023

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

People over time

Brillion, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020203,262

Grew from 278 people in 1880 to 3,262 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Brillion’s post office has been open since 1855.

Gone or out of use
Brillion QuarrymineEmmanuel Evangelical Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brillion
Brillion Community Cemetery - SouthTrinity Lutheran Cemetery - South

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.

RantoulIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brillion’s history

What year was Brillion founded?

The Brillion post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Brillion rank for history?

Brillion is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #149 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 Brillion?

One place: the Stanelle, Gottlieb and Beata, Farmhouse (listed 2023).

How old are the homes in Brillion?

26% of Brillion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 Wikimedia Commons (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.