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–Not graded
History · Dewey

15% of Dewey’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Dewey’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 Dewey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dewey, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dewey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dewey’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bashaw
1877–1895
Doran
1899–1918
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bashaw

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

The story so far

Dewey, in brief

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

Dewey is a town in Burnett County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 545 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Bashaw is located in the town.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 516 to 545 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Dewey, 1877 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Bashaw post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Bashaw post office closes
  4. 1899Post officeThe Doran post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1918Post officeThe Doran post office closes
  7. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Dewey on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Dewey on the 1955 USGS mapDewey on the 1982 USGS map1955Hertel 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 Dewey.

Famous people

Famous people close to Dewey

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

See all →
J
John PetersonOlympic wrestler · b. 1948
Molly EngstromAmerican women's ice hockey player · b. 1983
D
David HansonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1954
J
Jules AlfonseAmerican football player · b. 1911
H
Harvey L. Dueholm20th century American politician · b. 1910
P
Patricia Spafford SmithAmerican politician · b. 1925
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

RuskIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRooseveltIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBashawIts storyCLa FolletteIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLorainIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dewey’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 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.