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History · Muscoda

10% of Muscoda’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1983 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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What stands out about Muscoda’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 Muscoda are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Muscoda’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Muscoda’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Muscoda, in brief

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

Muscoda is a village in Grant and Iowa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,307 at the 2020 census. Of this, 1,245 were in Grant County, and 62 were in Iowa County. The Grant County part of the village is adjacent to the Town of Muscoda and the Iowa County part is adjacent to the Town of Pulaski.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 769 in 2010, 754 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Muscoda in 1900

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

The business men of the place realized that, if not dead, the village was sleeping, and the people across the river in Richland County felt the need of convenient access to a railroad market. A bridge across the river was much needed. The town of Muscoda and the town of Eagle in Richland County eac…
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 686Read the page →
Read the text

The business men of the place realized that, if not dead, the village was sleeping, and the people across the river in Richland County felt the need of convenient access to a railroad market. A bridge across the river was much needed. The town of Muscoda and the town of Eagle in Richland County each voted $2,000 for a bridge and the citi¬ zens subscribed $4,000 more. Miller & Stinglham, of Sauk City, took a contract to build a bridge for $20,000, but enough money could not be raised and the project fell through.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1850 the village of Muscoda was surveyed and platted by James Moore, and in 1852 W. W. Dimock laid out an addition to the village. In 1853 the population of the village was about two hundred and it had two stores, one by S. A. Quincy and the other by Palmer & Ward.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 685Read the page →
Read the text

In 1850 the village of Muscoda was surveyed and platted by James Moore, and in 1852 W. W. Dimock laid out an addition to the village. In 1853 the population of the village was about two hundred and it had two stores, one by S. A. Quincy and the other by Palmer & Ward.

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.

By decade

Muscoda, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Muscoda public library and water tower2024Muscoda public library and water towerDowntown2017DowntownThe John Young House2016The John Young HouseMuscoda Tower 22007Muscoda Tower 2Muscoda Tower 12007Muscoda Tower 1
On the map

Muscoda on the map in 1983

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Muscoda.

Muscoda on the 1983 USGS map1983Muscoda sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Muscoda.

People over time

Muscoda, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,453

Between 605 and 1,453 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Black SchoolschoolSand Branch Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Muscoda
Pipal

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EagleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPulaski1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCastle RockIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWatterstownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Muscoda’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (5), Wikidata (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.