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History · Fifield

Fifield dates to 1876, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Fifield was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the Fifield Town Hall, the Round Lake Logging Dam and the Fifield Fire Lookout Tower. Below: maps from 1894 on.

1876founded
3on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fifield began

When was Fifield founded?

1876

Fifield dates its founding to 1876 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1877.

2020 census: 905150 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fifield’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 Fifield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fifield, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1909, drew every building in Fifield.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fifield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fifield’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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fifield’s post office has been open since 1877. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fifield
1877–today
Flambeau Station
1877–1879
Coolidge
1883–1892
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Coolidge
Gone or out of use
Caro Timber Picnic GroundlocaleDivine Rapids SchoolschoolPleasant View SchoolschoolSailor Creek SchoolschoolSouth Fork Fire Towertower
1cemetery inside Fifield
Forest Home

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

Every building

Fifield, building by building, 1894–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Fifield fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Fifield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fifield.

Read it all →

Fifield was founded in 1876, where the Wisconsin Central Railroad crossed the Flambeau River's south fork in the big northern forest. The town is named after Sam Fifield, a politician and businessman who was Wisconsin's 14th lieutenant governor.

As logging boomed and the population grew, a town hall was built in 1882, but it burned in the fire of 1893, along with Fifield's business district of 60 buildings. The next spring, the town rebuilt the hall with the same dimensions, headed by carpenter Theodore Ristin.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fifield, 1876 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876
    FoundingFifield is established
  3. 1876BuiltRound Lake Logging Dam is built
  4. 1877Post officeThe Fifield post office opens
  5. 1877Post officeThe Flambeau Station post office opens
  6. 1879Post officeThe Flambeau Station post office closes
  7. 1883Post officeThe Coolidge post office opens
  8. 1892Post officeThe Coolidge post office closes
  9. 1894BuiltFifield Town Hall is built
  10. 20th century
  11. 1920Born hereRobert W. Aschenbrener is born here
  12. 1930Born hereBarbara Anne Davis is born here
  13. 1932BuiltFifield Fire Lookout Tower is built
  14. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fifield, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Fifield WI Museum2009Fifield WI MuseumFifield WI 22009Fifield WI 2WIMap-doton-Fifield2004WIMap-doton-Fifield
On the map

Fifield on the map, 1968 to 1984

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

Fifield on the 1968 USGS mapFifield on the 1984 USGS map1968Park Falls 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 Fifield.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Fifield

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Fifield Town Hall
Fifield Town Hall, built 1894Round Lake Logging Dam, built 1876Fifield Fire Lookout Tower, built 1932
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Fire Lookout Tower1
Fifield Town HallVernacular · Built 1894
Round Lake Logging DamBuilt 1876
Fifield Fire Lookout TowerFire Lookout Tower · Built 1932

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fifield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert W. AschenbrenerAmerican World War II flying ace · b. 1920
B
Barbara Anne DavisAmerican baseball player · b. 1930
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EisensteinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFlambeauIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWorcester1 historic placeB+LakeIts storyCMinocqua4 historic placesB−EmeryIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSherman1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLac du Flambeau1 historic placeC+

Questions about Fifield’s history

What year was Fifield founded?

In 1876, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fifield’s post office opened in 1877.

What is on the National Register in Fifield?

Three places: the Fifield Town Hall (listed 1978), the Round Lake Logging Dam (1981) and the Fifield Fire Lookout Tower (2007).

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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.