Most of Little Sturgeon was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Little Sturgeon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Little Sturgeon is a census-designated place located on the Little Sturgeon Bay, in the town of Gardner, in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, Little Sturgeon had a population of 177. Little Sturgeon has an annual festival known as "Little Sturgeon Days" that features a parade and other live entertainment.
Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 136 to 177 (+30%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Little Sturgeon in 1881
Passages that mention Little Sturgeon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Door county, Wisconsin, together with biographies of nearly seven hundred families, and mention of 4,000 persons ..1881 · page 86Read the page →
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The fractional townships set off were organized into a town, under the name of Gardner— in honor of F. B. Gardner, who at that time was carrying on an extensive lumbering business at Little Sturgeon Bay. The first town meeting was held in a school house, District No. 1, town of Brussels. It will be remembered that in giving an outline of the settlement of Door county, at the beginning of this history, that we mentioned Little Sturgeon as the site on which settled the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Door county, Wisconsin, together with biographies of nearly seven hundred families, and mention of 4,000 persons ..1881 · page 104Read the page →
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Wiliiamsonville was a little settlement established by the Messrs. Williamson, in the dense forest a few miles South of Little Sturgeon— the manufacture of shingles being the main pillar upon which rested the foundation for forming the settlement. A mill, store, boarding house, large barn, blacksmith shop, eight dwelling houses, and minor buildings made up the settlement— all of which were reduced to ashes. From 76 to 80 persons were in the settlement at the time of the fire,
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Little Sturgeon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Little Sturgeon 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 Little Sturgeon.
Questions about Little Sturgeon’s history
What year was Little Sturgeon founded?
The Little Sturgeon post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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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