The story so far
Grant, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grant yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 813 to 732 (-10%).
–Not graded
History · Grant
17% of Grant’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1971 on and old-book passages.
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Grant’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 Grant’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grant’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Grant in 1900
Passages that mention Grant, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 102Read the page →
Read the text
“In the spring of 1837 I ceased to work for Daniels, Denniston & Co., and Grant County being organized, March 4, 1837, an election was held for county officers, at which I was elected the first register of deeds of Grant County. In the summer of 1837 I was appointed a justice of the peace of Grant County by Gov. Henry Dodge. In No¬ vember, 1837, 1 moved the office of register of deeds and myself from Cassville to Lancaster, and lived there until the spring of 1855, when I moved back to Cassville.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 18Read the page →
Read the text
saw-mill, the first in the county, a few miles up the river from the fur¬ nace. It has been stated that a post-office was established at Gibral¬ tar in 1828, but the editor can find no record of any post-office here till 1838. The first post-office in what is now Grant County was established at Platteville in 1829, with J. H. Rountree as postmaster. Previous to that some person would go to Galena from Hardscrabble or Platteville and bring out in his pocket all the mail for his neighbor¬ hood.
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
Grant, 1907 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Grant on the map, 1971 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grant. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Thornapple sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Grant.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Grant
Nobody well known was born in Grant itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Another post office, Port Arthur, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Port Arthur
Gone or out of use
Clover Leaf SchoolschoolGrant Center SchoolschoolMaple Center SchoolschoolPort Arthur DamdamRiver Heights SchoolschoolWest Grant Schoolschool
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.
Ladysmith1 historic placeBGrowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWillardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThornappleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFlambeauIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Grant’s history
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). 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.