The story
Read it all →How Gilman came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Gilman.
The town was organized in 1870 as "Deerfield." It was subsequently renamed after B.F. Gilman, the first settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Gilman
Gilman dates to 1870, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1949 on.
1870founded
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Gilman began
When was Gilman founded?
1870
Gilman dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1874.
2020 census: 1,006156 years
How historic is Gilman?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gilman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gilman is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gilman’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.0% of homes (±7.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gilman’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). Two sources give 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Gilman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Gilman’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gilman’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Gilman, 1870 to 1949
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1870FoundingGilman is established
- 1874Post officeThe Gilman post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Viking post office opens
- 20th century
- 1900Post officeThe Gilman post office closes
- 1902Post officeThe Viking post office closes
- 1949
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Gilman, decade by decade
Date unknown1 to date
Date?On the map
Gilman on the map, 1949 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gilman. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Baldwin sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gilman.
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.
Retake this viewPolley Lane Bridge, Spanning Yellow River at Polly Lane
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gilman’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Gilman
Nobody well known was born in Gilman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Gilman had its own post office from 1874 to 1900. Another post office, Viking, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gilman
Viking
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Viking
Gone or out of use
Gilman Center SchoolschoolLocust Grove SchoolschoolLone Balsam SchoolschoolMines SchoolschoolSouth Hill Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Gilman
Gilman Lutheran
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.
Questions about Gilman’s history
What year was Gilman founded?
In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gilman’s post office opened in 1874.
How does Gilman rank for history?
Gilman is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Gilman?
31% of Gilman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.