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Halsey is a town in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 634 at the 2020 census. The town is named for Pierson Halsey, a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Rietbrock, Halsey and Johnson, which founded Athens, Wisconsin. It was set off from the town of Hamburg in 1883.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 651 to 634 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Halsey in 1913
Passages that mention Halsey, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Marathon County, Wisconsin1913 · page 563Read the page →
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The town of Halsey covers township 30, range 4 east, and was set off from the town of Hamburg November 15, 1883. At the ensuing spring election William Rietz was duly elected the first chairman of the town. As indicated by its name, the town was largely settled through the efforts of Fred. Rietbrock of the law firm of Johnson, Rietbrock & Halsey. Carl Fiebke operates a saw mill on the line of the logging railroad running from Athens nearly straight north to the county line and then into Lincoln county. There is a large crop of logs taken out by this road every year.
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History of Marathon County, Wisconsin1913 · page 676Read the page →
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Oconomowoc, where he remained for four years and for five years afterward was manager for Mrs. J. T. Bartlett, whose estate adjoins the Bullen place. For ten years after coming to Marathon county he was on the Halsey farm, but in the meanwhile had bought land for himself, of which he took charge after leaving the Halsey farm. He owns one farm of eighty acres situated in the town of Rietbrock and another of eighty acres in the town of Johnson, both of which he has rented to capable tenants. In March, 1906, the Marathon County Farmers' Creamery
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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 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.
