Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hixton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Hixton

Hixton’s post office opened in 1863, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 1930.

1863first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers

How Hixton began

When was Hixton founded?

1863

The Hixton post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sechlerville (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 270 in 19302020 census: 456163 years
Founding year: the first Hixton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hixton’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 Hixton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hixton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story

How Hixton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hixton.

Read it all →

The community was started by John L. Hicks, who came to the area in 1854. The town of Hixton (formed out of a piece of Albion) was formed and named in 1856. The community was at first named Williamport, and later Pole Grove. The local post office was established in 1856 as "Pole Grove," and was renamed Hixton in 1874. The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad came through the area and opened a station at Hixton in 1873. The community was incorporated in 1920.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hixton, 1863 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863Post officeThe Hixton post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Sechlerville post office opens
  4. 1871Born hereEdward E. Lyon is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1955Post officeThe Sechlerville post office closes
By decade

Hixton, decade by decade

On the map

Hixton on the map, 1927 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hixton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hixton on the 1927 USGS mapHixton on the 1968 USGS mapHixton on the 1984 USGS map1927Blair sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hixton.

People over time

Hixton, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 456

Between 270 and 456 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hixton’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Hixton’s post office has been open since 1863. Another post office, Sechlerville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hixton
1863–today
Sechlerville
1868–1955
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sechlerville
1cemetery inside Hixton
Trinity Rest

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Hixton’s history

What year was Hixton founded?

The Hixton post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.