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–Not graded
History · Brooklyn

11% of Brooklyn’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1965 on.

0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brooklyn’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Brooklyn’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brooklyn’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of a crowd outside of church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Brooklyn, in brief

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

Brooklyn is a town in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 311 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Lampson is located in the town.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 254 to 311 (+22%).

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

Timeline

Brooklyn, 1902 to 1965

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Lampson post office opens
  3. 1905In the archiveView of a crowd outside of church
  4. 1959Post officeThe Lampson post office closes
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brooklyn, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
View of a crowd outside of church1905View of a crowd outside of church
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

Brooklyn on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Brooklyn on the 1965 USGS mapBrooklyn on the 1982 USGS map1965Minong 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 Brooklyn.

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.

View of a crowd outside of church
Retake this viewView of a crowd outside of church, 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Brooklyn

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

See all →
Sean DuffyAmerican politician, former sports commentator … · b. 1971
D
Dan PlanteAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1971
J. R. SalzmanRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1979
P
Patricia Spafford SmithAmerican politician · b. 1925
W
William W. McCutcheonAmerican politician from Minnesota · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lampson
1cemetery inside Brooklyn
Lampson

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.

ChicogIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGull LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTregoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpringbrookIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMinong1 historic placeB

Questions about Brooklyn’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 (1), 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.