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History · Emerald

Emerald’s post office opened in 1872, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1950 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Emerald’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Emerald began

When was Emerald founded?

1872

The Emerald post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 831154 years
Founding year: the first Emerald post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Emerald’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Emerald’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1907 Postcard back ANDERSON10: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Emerald, in brief

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

Emerald is a town in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 831 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Emerald is located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 853 to 831 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Emerald, 1872 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Emerald post office opens
  3. 1893Born hereBurleigh Grimes is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907In the archive1907 Postcard back ANDERSON10
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1985Post officeThe Emerald post office closes
By decade

Emerald, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
1907 Postcard back ANDERSON1019071907 Postcard back ANDERSON10Postcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Emerald, Wisconsin2006Emerald, WisconsinEmerald, Wisconsin2006Emerald, WisconsinEmerald, Wisconsin2006Emerald, WisconsinEmerald, Wisconsin2006Emerald, WisconsinEmerald, Wisconsin2006Emerald, WisconsinWIMap-doton-Emerald2005WIMap-doton-Emerald
On the map

Emerald on the map, 1950 to 1975

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

Emerald on the 1950 USGS mapEmerald on the 1975 USGS map1950Deer Park 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 Emerald.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1907 Postcard back ANDERSON10
Retake this view1907 Postcard back ANDERSON10, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Emerald’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Emerald had its own post office from 1872 to 1985.

Emerald
1872–1985
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Carr Creek SchoolschoolHutton Creek SchoolschoolOakdale SchoolschoolThrifty Oak Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Emerald
Greenwood

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.

CylonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaldwinIts storyBErin PrairieIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlenwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Emerald’s history

What year was Emerald founded?

The Emerald post office opened in 1872, 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 (7), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.