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History · Gordon

Gordon’s post office opened in 1882, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Gordon was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listings are the Antoine and Sarah Gordon House and the A.D. Thompson Cabin. Its Register listings are the Antoine and Sarah Gordon House and the A.D. Thompson Cabin. Below: maps from 1982 on.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gordon began

When was Gordon founded?

1882

The Gordon post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 757144 years
Founding year: the first Gordon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gordon’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 Gordon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gordon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gordon’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
The story so far

Gordon, in brief

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

Gordon is a town in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 757 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Gordon is located in the town. It was historically known as "Amick" (Amik), meaning beaver, indicating the town's significant fur-trading post alongside the Eau Claire River. The area was then called "Gordon" after half-French, half-Ojibwe pioneer and founder Antoine Gordon, who set up his convenience store and eventual commune next to the canoe stop and served as a landmark and rest stop for those traveling by.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 636 to 757 (+19%).

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

Timeline

Gordon, 1882 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Gordon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1993Post officeThe Gordon post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Gordon on the map in 1982

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gordon.

Gordon on the 1982 USGS map1982Gordon 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 Gordon.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Gordon

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
2022
Antoine and Sarah Gordon House
Antoine and Sarah Gordon HouseA.D. Thompson Cabin
Buildings
All 2 listings
Antoine and Sarah Gordon HouseBuilding · listed 2022A.D. Thompson CabinBuilding · listed 2022

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gordon

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

See all →
D
Dean NyquistAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1935
T
Tom BurkeAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1976
C
Chuck EisenmannAmerican baseball player · b. 1918
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Gordon had its own post office from 1882 to 1993.

Gordon
1882–1993
18801950today

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.

WascottIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSolon Springs1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSummitIts storyCBarnes1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHighlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBennettIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOaklandIts storyCDairylandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gordon’s history

What year was Gordon founded?

The Gordon post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gordon?

Two places: the Antoine and Sarah Gordon House (listed 2022) and the A.D. Thompson Cabin (2022).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.