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CHistory
History · Iron River

Iron River’s post office opened in 1888, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1893 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Iron River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Iron River began

When was Iron River founded?

1888

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

2020 census: 1,240138 years

How historic is Iron River?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Iron River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Iron River’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Iron River is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Iron River’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.5% of homes (±4.3) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Iron River’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Iron River’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1917, drew every building in Iron River.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Iron River’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIron River Wis., in 1908: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Iron River, building by building, 1893–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Iron River fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Iron River, in brief

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

Iron River is a town in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,240 at the 2020 census, up from 1,123 at the 2010 census. The census-designated place of Iron River is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Topside is also located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,123 to 1,240 (+10%).

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

Timeline

Iron River, 1888 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Iron River post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveIron River Wis., in 1908
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Iron River, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Iron River Wis., in 19081908Iron River Wis., in 1908
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
IronRiverWI Library2017IronRiverWI LibraryIronRiverWI HistSocMuseum2017IronRiverWI HistSocMuseumIronRiverWI Downtown2017IronRiverWI Downtown
On the map

Iron River on the map, 1961 to 2005

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

Iron River on the 1961 USGS mapIron River on the 1984 USGS mapIron River on the 2005 USGS map1961Iron Lake SW 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 River.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Iron River Wis., in 1908
Retake this viewIron River Wis., in 1908, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Iron River’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Iron River

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

See all →
Paul HammAmerican artistic gymnast · b. 1982
Morgan HammGymnast · b. 1982
J
John SzarkowskiAmerican curator · b. 1925
Jennifer OuelletteAmerican science writer · b. 1964
Robin GreenfieldAmerican activist and adventurer · b. 1986
J
John GordonAmerican curler · b. 1958
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Iron River’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Topside
1cemetery inside Iron River
Iron River City

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.

HughesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTrippIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDeltaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeystoneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPilsenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Iron River’s history

What year was Iron River founded?

The Iron River post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Iron River rank for history?

Iron River is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Iron River?

13% of Iron River’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.