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Merrill Wisconsin Downtown2 West Westside WIS64Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHistory
History · Merrill

Merrill dates to 1881, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #272 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1881founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Merrill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Merrill began

When was Merrill founded?

1881

Merrill dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 882 in 18802020 census: 2,881145 years

How historic is Merrill?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Merrill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Merrill is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #272 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Merrill’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.6% of homes (±5.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 33%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 25%

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 Merrill’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1881.
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 (±5.6 points).

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 Merrill’s past

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

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1913, drew every building in Merrill.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Merrill, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersWendy Boglioli, Donald Edgar Tewes and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Every building

Merrill, building by building, 1884–1913

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.

Merrill fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 7
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Cotter
1903–1910
Schulz
1909–1911
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Otis
Gone or out of use
Barnes Creek SchoolschoolCotter SchoolschoolHillside SchoolschoolNorth Star SchoolschoolPine Grove SchoolschoolSchultz Spur SchoolschoolWard Paper Mill Damdam

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Merrill

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

See all →
W
Wendy BoglioliAmerican swimmer · b. 1955
Donald Edgar TewesAmerican politician · b. 1916
Edward S. JordanAmerican automotive pioneer · b. 1881
P
Paul JespersonAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
Ralph D. HetzelTenth president of Penn State University · b. 1882
Walter B. ChilsenAmerican newspaper editor and politician · b. 1885
The story

How Merrill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Merrill.

Read it all →

Merrill was first inhabited by the Chippewa Native Americans. The first European settlement there was a logging town named Jenny Bull Falls. By 1843, a trading post was constructed near the town; John Faely was the first settler. Within four years a dam, started by Andrew Warren, was constructed over the Wisconsin River. Warren then established the first mill powered by the dam, and other saw mills in the area. In 1870, T. B. Scott succeeded Warren, and the mill soon became increasingly successful. In 1899 the mill burned down. During that time the name of the community was changed to Merrill, in honor of Sherburn S. Merrill (1818–1885), the general manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Merrill, 1881 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingMerrill is established
  3. 1881Born hereEdward S. Jordan is born here
  4. 1883In the archiveBird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county seat Lincoln Co. 1883
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Cotter post office opens
  7. 1906In the archiveAugust H. Stange (American Lumbermen; vol. 3, 1906)
  8. 1909Post officeThe Schulz post office opens
  9. 1910Post officeThe Cotter post office closes
  10. 1911In the archiveDining room, Lincoln Hotel
  11. 1911Post officeThe Schulz post office closes
  12. 1916Born hereDonald Edgar Tewes is born here
  13. 1941In the archiveGreetings from Merrill, A City of Parks (NBY 9959)
  14. 1955Born hereWendy Boglioli is born here
  15. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1973In the archiveFISHING ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER AT
  17. 1992Born herePaul Jesperson is born here
By decade

Merrill, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1940s5 items
Bird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county seat Lincoln Co. 18831883Bird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county seat Lincoln …August H. Stange (American Lumbermen; vol. 3, 1906)1906August H. Stange (American Lumbermen; vol. 3, 1906)Leonard Niles Anson (American Lumbermen; vol. 3, 1906)1906Leonard Niles Anson (American Lumbermen; vol. 3, 1906)Dining room, Lincoln Hotel1911Dining room, Lincoln HotelGreetings from Merrill, A City of Parks (NBY 9959)1941Greetings from Merrill, A City of Parks (NBY 9959)
1970s2 items
FISHING ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER AT1973FISHING ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER ATWATER LILIES ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER AT1973WATER LILIES ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER AT
1980s–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
Today6 recent
Merrill Wisconsin Downtown1 West Eastside WIS642011Merrill Wisconsin Downtown1 West Eastside WIS64Merrill Wisconsin Downtown East Eastside WIS642011Merrill Wisconsin Downtown East Eastside WIS64Merrill Wisconsin City Hall Historic2011Merrill Wisconsin City Hall HistoricMerrill Wisconsin City Hall 2011 Present2011Merrill Wisconsin City Hall 2011 PresentFirst Street Bridge Merrill Wisconsin Top2011First Street Bridge Merrill Wisconsin TopCenter Avenue Historic District2011Center Avenue Historic District
On the map

Merrill on the map, 1966 to 1982

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

Merrill on the 1966 USGS mapMerrill on the 1982 USGS map1966Merrill 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 Merrill.

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.

Bird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county seat Lincoln Co. 1883
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county seat Lincoln Co. 1883, 1883

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Merrill, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,146

Between 882 and 10,146 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Merrill’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Merrill, Wis. county…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HardingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScottIts storyB−Rock FallsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSchleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine RiverIts storyC+

Questions about Merrill’s history

What year was Merrill founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata. Merrill’s post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1880 counted 882 people here.

How does Merrill rank for history?

Merrill is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #272 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 Merrill?

14% of Merrill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (5), 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), 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.