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History · Coloma

Coloma’s post office opened in 1855, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Coloma began

When was Coloma founded?

1855

The Coloma post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coloma Station (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 74 in 18802020 census: 448171 years
Founding year: the first Coloma post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coloma’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 Coloma are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coloma’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Coloma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coloma.

Read it all →

The Coloma area was first settled in 1849 by John Drake and a man named Stowe. Stowe stole lumber Drake left in the area when Drake had to leave due to a family illness. Stowe built a tavern with the timber, leaving Drake to build his tavern out of rough hewn logs.

By 1875, the area was known as Ross Corners, after the local postmaster. A railroad between Stevens Point and Portage was soon built, coming through four miles to the east at a spot called Coloma Station. The post office was moved from Ross Corners to Coloma Station, and Ross Corners soon became known as Coloma Corners.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coloma, 1855 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Coloma post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Coloma Station post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1908Post officeThe Coloma Station post office closes
  6. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Coloma, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Coloma Wisconsin sign looking east on WIS212014Coloma Wisconsin sign looking east on WIS21Coloma Water Tower2014Coloma Water TowerColoma Water Tower - panoramio (1)2014Coloma Water Tower - panoramio (1)Coloma Village Park2014Coloma Village ParkCell Tower near2014Cell Tower nearATC Power Lines - panoramio (77)2014ATC Power Lines - panoramio (77)ATC Power Line - panoramio (120)2014ATC Power Line - panoramio (120)ATC Power Line - panoramio (119)2014ATC Power Line - panoramio (119)Coloma Wisconsin Welcome Sign2012Coloma Wisconsin Welcome SignColoma Wisconsin Sign Looking West WIS 212012Coloma Wisconsin Sign Looking West WIS 21Coloma Wisconsin Downtown Looking West WIS212012Coloma Wisconsin Downtown Looking West WIS21
On the map

Coloma on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Coloma on the 1968 USGS mapColoma on the 1985 USGS map1968Coloma 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 Coloma.

People over time

Coloma, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 461

Between 74 and 461 people in every census since 1880.

10 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Coloma

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

See all →
Cyril Adelbert StebbinsAmerican educator and agriculturalist · b. 1880
W
Webb SchultzAmerican baseball player · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Coloma’s post office has been open since 1855. Another post office, Coloma Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Coloma
1855–today
Coloma Station
1877–1908
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Coloma Municipal Airportairport

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

Questions about Coloma’s history

What year was Coloma founded?

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

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 (11), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.