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B−History
History · Crandon

Crandon’s post office opened in 1881, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1910.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Crandon began

When was Crandon founded?

1881

The Crandon post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ayr (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,833 in 19102020 census: 1,713145 years

How historic is Crandon?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Crandon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crandon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crandon’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.3% of homes (±7.1) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder

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 Crandon’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Crandon’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 Crandon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Crandon’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crandon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crandon’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
The story

How Crandon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crandon.

Read it all →

Samuel Shaw, an entrepreneur and capitalist, bought property in the area of Forest County in the 1880s, formerly Oconto County. With the aide of Major Frank P. Crandon, tax commissioner with the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, he successfully lobbied the Wisconsin Legislature for the creation of Forest County, which was established in 1887. Because of his help, Frank Crandon became the namesake for the county seat. Rail service arrived shortly thereafter in the region via the Soo Line Railroad, but a spur line did not directly reach the town until the turn of the 20th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crandon, 1881 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Ayr post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Crandon post office opens
  4. 1885Post officeThe Ayr post office closes
  5. 1885Post officeThe Crandon post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Born hereAlexander H. Smith is born here
  8. 1905Born hereArmin Landeck is born here
  9. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Crandon, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Collins 000044 165831 510054 45782016Collins 000044 165831 510054 4578ForestCountyWisconsinVeteransMemorialUS8WIS32WIS552008ForestCountyWisconsinVeteransMemorialUS8WIS32WIS55ForestCountyWisconsinCourthouseUS8WIS32WIS552008ForestCountyWisconsinCourthouseUS8WIS32WIS55ForestCountyLawEnforcementCenter2008ForestCountyLawEnforcementCenterCrandonWisconsinWaterTowerUS8WIS32WIS552008CrandonWisconsinWaterTowerUS8WIS32WIS55CrandonWisconsinDowntownUS8WIS55WIS322008CrandonWisconsinDowntownUS8WIS55WIS32CrandonWisconsinDowntown2US8WIS55WIS322008CrandonWisconsinDowntown2US8WIS55WIS32WIMap-doton-Crandon2004WIMap-doton-Crandon
On the map

Crandon on the map, 1965 to 1991

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

Crandon on the 1965 USGS mapCrandon on the 1982 USGS mapCrandon on the 1991 USGS map1965Crandon 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 Crandon.

Every building

Crandon, building by building, 1904–1909

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.

Crandon fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 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.

People over time

Crandon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,000

Between 1,582 and 2,000 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Crandon

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

See all →
A
Alexander H. SmithAmerican mycologist · b. 1904
A
Armin LandeckAmerican printmaker and educator · b. 1905
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Crandon had its own post office from 1881 to 1885. Another post office, Ayr, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ayr
1881–1885
Crandon
1881–1885
18801950today
1cemetery inside Crandon
Lakeside

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.

Lincoln1 historic placeC+

Questions about Crandon’s history

What year was Crandon founded?

The Crandon post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Crandon rank for history?

Crandon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Crandon?

31% of Crandon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (8), 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.