The Glen Haven post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Charlotte (1852) and North Andover (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 363188 years
Founding year: the first Glen Haven post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Glen Haven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glen Haven. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Elkader sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glen Haven.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Glen Haven’s post office has been open since 1838. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Glen Haven
1838–today
Charlotte
1852–1865
North Andover
1867–1916
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North Andover
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Glen Haven
CharlotteGockelRamseyScott
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Glen Haven, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Glen Haven yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Glen Haven is a town in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. According to the 2020 census, the town population was 363. The census-designated place of Glen Haven is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 417 to 363 (-13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Glen Haven, 1881–1900
Passages that mention Glen Haven, cut from the printed page as they were published.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 867Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Glen Haven was set off by the County Board in 1859, and the first town meeting was held in the "Yellow Schoolhouse," April 3, 1860. The first meeting of the Town Board was held at the same place, April 7, the same year. The following is a complete roster of the town ofiicers from the town organization to the present date : 1860 — Supervisors, A. A. Bennett, Chairman, A. D. Ramsey, Joseph Werry ; Clerk, William Tate; Treasurer, Henry Schneider; Assessor, Matthew Metcalf; Superintendent of Schools, James M. Scott ; Justices of the Peace, George Burroughs, A. A. Bennett, D. Oliver, L. S. Reynolds ; Constables, F. R. Delaware, Ed Doughty, Ed IBownas.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 866Read the page →
Read the text
To the northern portion the name of Glen Haven was given. The earliest settler in the town of Glen Haven was A. D. Ramsey, one of the earliest of the little band of pioneers who opened up the hidden riches of Grant County. Some years later on he was joined in the present town limits by James C Orr, who entered the farm, on which he afterward resided, in 1836 ; and Richard Ra;y, who came later. From the latter, the present site of the village took the name of "Ray's Landing," by which name it was known up to the birth of the new burg.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 648Read the page →
Read the text
was subscribed at the time of the dedication The old church on the hill was moved into the Mclvor settlement in the town of Glen Haven. THE VILLAGE CHURCH. The subsequent pastors were Revs. Smith Norton, R. L. Cheney, Mor¬ timer Smith, J. B. Adkins, G. W. Brownjohn, G. W. Jackman, and F.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 571Read the page →
Read the text
When the great agricultural development came and the prairies of the northern and western parts of the township became fields of wav¬ ing grain, it did not revive the village. The farmers went to trade at Cassville, Glen Haven and Bridgeport, where ’their grain could be shipped, or at the new town of Tafton, or at Oliver’s Mill. The village continued to decline until now it contains two stores, two hotels, a blacksmith and wagop shop, three salQons, and a cheese factory, started in the fall of 1898
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Glen Haven, 1838 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
