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History · Ironton

Ironton’s post office opened in 1856, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.

1856first post office

0on the National Register

21%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Ironton began

When was Ironton founded?

1856

The Ironton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 232 in 18802020 census: 274170 years

Founding year: the first Ironton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ironton’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 Ironton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

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Start Ironton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story so far

Ironton, in brief

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

Ironton is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Little Baraboo River. The population was 274 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Ironton. Like the Town of Ironton, the village was named for deposits of iron ore in the area.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 253 to 274 (+8%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ironton, 1880–1918

Passages that mention Ironton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

petitioned to be set off as a separate town. To this, the citizens of the north end, for some reason best known to themselves, demurred, but the Ironton people succeeded in carrying through the project, and the town of Ironton was the result. This naturally left the records of all the territory in … — **The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..**1880 · page 614Read the page →
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petitioned to be set off as a separate town. To this, the citizens of the north end, for some reason best known to themselves, demurred, but the Ironton people succeeded in carrying through the project, and the town of Ironton was the result. This naturally left the records of all the territory in question in possession of the town of Marston (now Lavalle), and it was considered a pretty good joke when the town of Ironton found itself compelled to make a transcript of them at its own expense. Marston soon after became, as it is now, the town of Lavalle, and every one was happy.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

They are connected with the Ironton Church, a history of which is given in that of the town of Ironton. The first Methodist services held in the town of Washington were conducted at the schoolhouse on Section 2, in the summer of 1855. Preaching was by the Rev. Mr. Hall. The church at Ironton was bu… — **The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..**1880 · page 616Read the page →
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They are connected with the Ironton Church, a history of which is given in that of the town of Ironton. The first Methodist services held in the town of Washington were conducted at the schoolhouse on Section 2, in the summer of 1855. Preaching was by the Rev. Mr. Hall. The church at Ironton was built in 1863, and the present Pastor is Elder George Tyake.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Kester felt that he could gain greater success further to the west, and in 1855 the family came to Wisconsin, settlement being made on a farm in Ironton Township which is now included in the Village of Ironton. The elder Kester continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the period … — **A standard history of Sauk County, Wisconsin**1918 · page 1049Read the page →
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Kester felt that he could gain greater success further to the west, and in 1855 the family came to Wisconsin, settlement being made on a farm in Ironton Township which is now included in the Village of Ironton. The elder Kester continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the period of his active career, and upon his retirement located at Reedsburg, where he died April 30, 1901, Mrs. Kester having passed away February 20, 1897. They were the parents of eight children, as follows: Charles M., of this notice; Sarah P., who was for a number
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

Ironton, 1856 to 1976

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

19th century
1856Post officeThe Ironton post office opens
20th century
1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1976Post officeThe Ironton post office closes

By decade

Ironton, decade by decade

Today2 recent

2024Ironton, Wisconsin

2023Ironton, WI public park

On the map

Ironton on the map, 1956 to 1975

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

1956Reedsburg 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 Ironton.

People over time

Ironton, census by census

Between 167 and 274 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ironton

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

See all →

Warren WeaverAmerican mathematician · b. 1894

Tommy Thompson19th United States Secretary of Health and Huma… · b. 1941

Marc MitscherUnited States admiral · b. 1887

Ryne DurenAmerican baseball player · b. 1929

Clare BriggsAmerican cartoonist · b. 1875

Elmore Y. SarlesAmerican politician · b. 1859

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Ironton had its own post office from 1856 to 1976.

Ironton

1856–1976

18501940today

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

Questions about Ironton’s history

What year was Ironton founded?

The Ironton post office opened in 1856, 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 →

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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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.

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