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History · Merrillan

Merrillan’s post office opened in 1870, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Merrillan began

When was Merrillan founded?

1870

The Merrillan post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,003 in 18802020 census: 562156 years
Founding year: the first Merrillan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Merrillan’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 Merrillan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1984. Watch Merrillan change.Old housesHalf of Merrillan’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Merrillan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Merrillan’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

Merrillan on the map, 1924 to 1984

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

Merrillan on the 1924 USGS mapMerrillan on the 1968 USGS mapMerrillan on the 1984 USGS map1924Black River Falls 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 Merrillan.

The story

How Merrillan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Merrillan.

Read it all →

A post office called Merrillan has been in operation since 1894. The village was named for L. G. Merrill, an original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Merrillan, decade by decade

Today6 recent
MerrillanWisconsinWelcomeSignWIS952009MerrillanWisconsinWelcomeSignWIS95MerrillanWisconsinWaterTowerWIS952009MerrillanWisconsinWaterTowerWIS95MerrillanWisconsinSignWIS952009MerrillanWisconsinSignWIS95MerrillanWisconsinDowntownWIS95WIS27US122009MerrillanWisconsinDowntownWIS95WIS27US12Merrillan2009MerrillanWIMap-doton-Merrillan2004WIMap-doton-Merrillan
Every building

Merrillan, building by building, 1904–1914

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.

Merrillan fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Merrillan, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,003

Between 542 and 1,003 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Merrillan

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

See all →
Virginia SatirAmerican psychotherapist & non-fiction author · b. 1916
Carole LandisAmerican actress · b. 1919
Edward E. LyonUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1871
Hugh H. PriceAmerican politician · b. 1859
E
Ernie RudolphAmerican baseball player · b. 1909
F
Froelich RaineyAmerican anthropologist · b. 1907

Questions about Merrillan’s history

What year was Merrillan founded?

The Merrillan post office opened in 1870, 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 →
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.