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History · Maple Grove

39% of Maple Grove’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Maple Grove’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 Maple Grove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Maple Grove, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Maple Grove’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Maple Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maple Grove’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mooney's Mills
1877–1884
Hillsdale
1884–1986
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hillsdale
Gone or out of use
Irving SchoolschoolLanglade SchoolschoolMaple Grove Center SchoolschoolMaple Grove ChurchchurchNelson Dewey SchoolschoolSunnyside SchoolschoolVictory SchoolschoolWoodside Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Maple Grove
Maple GroveNew ScandinaviaOld Hillsdale

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

The story so far

Maple Grove, in brief

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

The Town of Maple Grove is located in Barron County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 877 at the 2020 census, down from 979 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Hillsdale is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Wickware is also located partially in the town.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 979 to 877 (-10%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Maple Grove in 1922

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

“Three new buildings have been added during the year; one in the town of Maple Grove, costing $539 ; another in the town of Cumberland, costing $660 ; and a third in the town of Turtle Lake, costing $767.95. “There are now in the county 110 districts, the number of departments being 132. There are …
History of Barron County Wisconsin1922 · page 1021Read the page →
Read the text

“Three new buildings have been added during the year; one in the town of Maple Grove, costing $539 ; another in the town of Cumberland, costing $660 ; and a third in the town of Turtle Lake, costing $767.95. “There are now in the county 110 districts, the number of departments being 132. There are 133 teachers, the extra one being the assistant principal at Cumberland.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Maple Grove Township occupies Township 33, Range 12; and the west half of Township 33, Range 11. It was created with its present boundaries, March 22, 1876. The first town meeting was ordered held in the schoolhouse of District 2, in Township 33, Range 12.
History of Barron County Wisconsin1922 · page 1053Read the page →
Read the text

Maple Grove Township occupies Township 33, Range 12; and the west half of Township 33, Range 11. It was created with its present boundaries, March 22, 1876. The first town meeting was ordered held in the schoolhouse of District 2, in Township 33, Range 12.

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

Maple Grove, 1877 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Mooney's Mills post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Mooney's Mills post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Hillsdale post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1986Post officeThe Hillsdale post office closes
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.

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On the map

Maple Grove on the map, 1951 to 1978

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

Maple Grove on the 1951 USGS mapMaple Grove on the 1978 USGS map1951Barron 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 Maple Grove.

Famous people

Famous people close to Maple Grove

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

See all →
Dick LaneAmerican actor and television announcer · b. 1899
Henry EllensonAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
J
John PetersonOlympic wrestler · b. 1948
John G. Blystone1892–1938; American film director · b. 1892
D
David HansonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1954
Harold OlsenAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1895
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ArlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie LakeIts storyCDallasIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarronIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Maple Grove’s history

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, 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.