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History · Exeland

Exeland’s post office opened in 1908

Most of Exeland was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1972 on, and the census since 1920.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Exeland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Exeland began

When was Exeland founded?

1908

The Exeland post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 211 in 19202020 census: 229118 years
Founding year: the first Exeland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Exeland’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 Exeland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHeath Bridge, Bloomberg road over Chipp…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Exeland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Exeland.

Read it all →

The only community named Exeland in the United States, the community was founded around 1907 when the Arpin Lumber Company built a logging railroad to the area, which crossed the Wisconsin Central Railroad. The resulting "X" led to the community's name. Exeland became a village in 1920.

A promotional document of the Wisconsin Colonization Company describes Exeland around 1920: "Today Exeland has a modern creamery, large potato warehouse, a pickle station, three fine large general stores, a feed store, a butcher shop, and a bank with $130,000 total assets."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Exeland, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Heath Bridge, Bloomberg road over Chippewa RiverDate?Heath Bridge, Bloomberg road over Chippewa River
Today5 recent
Exeland Wisconsin Sign WIS482016Exeland Wisconsin Sign WIS48Exeland Wisconsin Post Office Water Tower WIS482016Exeland Wisconsin Post Office Water Tower WIS48Exeland Wisconsin Downtown WIS482016Exeland Wisconsin Downtown WIS48Exeland Wisconsin Community Center2016Exeland Wisconsin Community CenterWIMap-doton-Exeland2004WIMap-doton-Exeland
On the map

Exeland on the map, 1972 to 1980

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

Exeland on the 1972 USGS mapExeland on the 1980 USGS map1972Exeland 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 Exeland.

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.

Heath Bridge, Bloomberg road over Chippewa River
Retake this viewHeath Bridge, Bloomberg road over Chippewa River

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Exeland, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 229

Between 180 and 229 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Exeland

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

See all →
Ron KovicAnti-war activist · b. 1946
Lois CappsAmerican politician and writer · b. 1938
Jim LeonhardAmerican football player and coach · b. 1982
Lou ConterAmerican Navy Lieutenant commander · b. 1921
B
Beverley AndersonAmerican alpine skier · b. 1938
M
Mark HayesAmerican composer · b. 1953

Questions about Exeland’s history

What year was Exeland founded?

The Exeland post office opened in 1908, 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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.