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History · Edgewater

Edgewater’s post office opened in 1906

Most of Edgewater was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1972 on.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Edgewater began

When was Edgewater founded?

1906

The Edgewater post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wooddale (1917), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 565120 years
Founding year: the first Edgewater post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Edgewater’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edgewater’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 so far

Edgewater, in brief

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

Edgewater is a town in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 565 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Edgewater and Wooddale are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Yarnell is also located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1906. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 519 to 565 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Edgewater, 1906 to 1995

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906Post officeThe Edgewater post office opens
  3. 1917Post officeThe Wooddale post office opens
  4. 1932Post officeThe Wooddale post office closes
  5. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1995Post officeThe Edgewater 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 map

Edgewater on the map, 1972 to 1980

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

Edgewater on the 1972 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1980 USGS map1972Edgewater 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 Edgewater.

Famous people

Famous people close to Edgewater

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

See all →
Dick LaneAmerican actor and television announcer · b. 1899
Henry EllensonAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
John G. Blystone1892–1938; American film director · b. 1892
Harold OlsenAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1895
William Henry DietzAmerican football player and coach · b. 1884
R
Ruth ClusenAmerican activist · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Edgewater had its own post office from 1906 to 1995. Another post office, Wooddale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Edgewater
1906–1995
Wooddale
1917–1932
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wooddale

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.

BirchwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSand LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBirchwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMeteorIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCouderayIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Edgewater’s history

What year was Edgewater founded?

The Edgewater post office opened in 1906, 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 →
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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.