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History · Douglas

22% of Douglas’ homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: maps from 1902 on.

1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Douglas’ 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 Douglas are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1975. Watch Douglas change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Douglas’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Douglas’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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On the map

Douglas on the map, 1902 to 1975

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

Douglas on the 1902 USGS mapDouglas on the 1958 USGS mapDouglas on the 1975 USGS map1902Briggsville 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 Douglas.

The story so far

Douglas, in brief

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

Douglas (at one time spelled Douglass) is a town in Marquette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 784 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Briggsville and Douglas Center are located within the town.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 725 to 784 (+8%).

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

Timeline

Douglas, 1856 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Briggsville post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Douglas Center post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1904Post officeThe Douglas Center post office closes
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.
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On the National Register

1 listing protects 15 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Bonnie Oaks Historic District
Bonnie Oaks Historic District
Districts
Bonnie Oaks Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Douglas

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

See all →
Frederick Jackson TurnerAmerican historian · b. 1861
Zona GaleAmerican author and playwright · b. 1874
Russell W. PetersonAmerican politician and chemist · b. 1916
Gerald L. K. SmithAmerican politician and clergyman · b. 1898
M
Maureen ClarkAmerican curler · b. 1982
C
Claudia CardAmerican philosopher · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Briggsville
1856–today
Douglas Center
1861–1904
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BriggsvilleDouglas Center

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.

MoundvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew HavenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLewistonIts storyCBriggsvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJacksonIts storyC−

Questions about Douglas’ history

What is on the National Register in Douglas?

One place: the Bonnie Oaks Historic District (listed 1986).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.