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Iron Belt Wisconsin Downtown Looking East WIS77Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Iron Belt

Iron Belt’s post office opened in 1888, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Iron Belt began

When was Iron Belt founded?

1888

The Iron Belt post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 158138 years
Founding year: the first Iron Belt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Iron Belt’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 Iron Belt are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Iron Belt’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Iron Belt’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Iron Belt’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

Iron Belt, in brief

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

Iron Belt is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. Iron Belt is located on Wisconsin Highway 77, southwest of Montreal, in the town of Knight. Iron Belt has a post office with ZIP code 54536. As of the 2020 census, its population was 158. Iron Belt was the birthplace of Karl Emil Nygard, who was the first and only mayor in U.S. history to be a Communist.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 173 to 158 (-9%).

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

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 album
On the map

Iron Belt on the map, 1956 to 1980

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

Iron Belt on the 1956 USGS mapIron Belt on the 1980 USGS map1956Iron Belt 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 Iron Belt.

Famous people

Famous people close to Iron Belt

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

See all →
J
John SzarkowskiAmerican curator · b. 1925
A
Al RossiAmerican rower · b. 1931
Frank OlsonAmerican chemist · b. 1910
Renee EllmersFormer U.S. Representative from North Carolina · b. 1964
Jennifer OuelletteAmerican science writer · b. 1964
F
Franklin MatthiasAmerican nuclear engineer · b. 1908
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

KnightIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPence1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKimballIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Iron Belt’s history

What year was Iron Belt founded?

The Iron Belt post office opened in 1888, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.