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B−History
History · Marshall

Marshall dates to 1837

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #217 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Marshall was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1880.

1837founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Marshall began

When was Marshall founded?

1837

Marshall dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 332 in 18802020 census: 3,787189 years

How historic is Marshall?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Marshall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marshall is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #217 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marshall’s overall grade.
Founding era1837, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±6.1) · 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 49%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 40%

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 Marshall’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). Two sources give 1837.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Marshall’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 Marshall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18904 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1971. Watch Marshall change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Marshall.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Marshall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marshall’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
On the map

Marshall on the map, 1890 to 1971

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

Marshall on the 1890 USGS mapMarshall on the 1905 USGS mapMarshall on the 1962 USGS mapMarshall on the 1971 USGS map1890Sun Prairie 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 Marshall.

Timeline

Marshall, 1837 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingMarshall is established
  3. 1848Post officeThe Hanchettville post office opens
  4. 1862Post officeThe Hanchettville post office closes
  5. 1862Post officeThe Marshall post office opens
  6. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1918Born hereFrancis Fagan is born here
  9. 1980Born hereCraig Benzine is born here
The story

How Marshall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marshall.

Read it all →

In June 1837, Andrew Bird, Zenas Bird and Aaron Petrie began a settlement along the banks of the Maunesha River. In the fall of 1838, a fire destroyed the settlement. For more than a decade after that the area was known as Bird's Ruins. In 1849, Bird's Ruins became Hanchettville to recognize Asahel Hanchett for luring several needed businesses to the village. Railway officials located a depot of the new Milwaukee to Madison rail line in Hanchettville, and the village residents renamed Hanchettville to Howard City after one of the leading railway promoters. Howard City did not prosper, so Asahel Hanchett sold his land holdings to Madison real estate brokers William F. Porter and Samuel Marshall in 1860. This included the grist mill created by Ansel Hanchett in 1852 which Marshall renamed "Marshall's Roller Mill." Marshall was the original home of what became Augsburg University from its …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Marshall, decade by decade

Today10 recent
LA locomotion steam engine2020LA locomotion steam engineWhiskey River Railway locomotives2015Whiskey River Railway locomotivesGoose Lake Wildlife Area2014Goose Lake Wildlife AreaMarshall, WI 53559, USA2009Marshall, WI 53559, USAMarshall Tower2009Marshall TowerFarm in Town2009Farm in TownMarshallWisconsinSign22008MarshallWisconsinSign2MarshallWisconsinSign12008MarshallWisconsinSign1MarshallWisconsinSchool2008MarshallWisconsinSchoolMarshallWisconsinDowntown2008MarshallWisconsinDowntown
People over time

Marshall, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,862

Between 282 and 3,862 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Marshall

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Craig BenzineFilmmaker, comedian, presenter · b. 1980
Francis FaganUnited States Marine · b. 1918
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Marshall’s post office has been open since 1862. Another post office, Hanchettville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hanchettville
1848–1862
Marshall
1862–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Evergreen Park Mobile Home Park

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

Questions about Marshall’s history

What year was Marshall founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata. Marshall’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 332 people here.

How does Marshall rank for history?

Marshall is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #217 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Marshall?

10% of Marshall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 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 (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.