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History · Nelson

22% of Nelson’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1932 on, and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nelson’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Nelson’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Nelson, and 2 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · 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.

Burnside
1862–1882
Misha Mokwa
1887–1965
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Misha MokwaTrevino
Gone or out of use
Burnside SchoolschoolCascade SchoolschoolDeer Creek SchoolschoolNorwegian Valley SchoolschoolTrout Creek Schoolschool

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

By decade

Nelson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s15 items
John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 DISTANT VIEW TO WEST SOUTHWEST. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Riv…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 DISTANT VIEW…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTH NORTHWEST. DECK WITH MACADAM OVERLAY. - Chippewa River Bridge, S…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTH NORTHWEST. PORTAL CONNECTION. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning …1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTH NORTHWEST. VERTICAL, TOP CHORD, TOP STRUT AND SWAY BRACING CONNE…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTH NORTHWEST. VERTICALS. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTHWEST. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa River at State H…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTHWEST. BOTTOM CHORD. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Ri…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTHWEST. PORTAL STRUT. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Ri…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORTHWEST. SWAY BRACING. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Ri…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO NORT…John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO WEST SOUTHWEST. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa River at St…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 VIEW TO WEST…John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO NORTH NORTHEAST. SUBJECT BRIDGE AND ITS SETTING. - Chippewa River …1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO …John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO NORTHWEST. SUBJECT BRIDGE AND ITS SETTING. - Chippewa River Bridge…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO …John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO SOUTH SOUTHWEST. SUBJECT BRIDGE AND ITS SETTING. - Chippewa River …1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO …John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO WEST. SUBJECT BRIDGE AND ITS SETTING. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spa…1968John N. Vogel, Photographer, May 1993 AERIAL VIEW TO …Wayne Chandler, Photographer, August 1993 Photographic copy of Xerox copy of original plans, dated 1932, by Wisconsin H…1968Wayne Chandler, Photographer, August 1993 Photographi…
1970s–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
Today3 recent
Nelson Wisconsin Downtown WIS352016Nelson Wisconsin Downtown WIS35Nelson, WI2009Nelson, WIWIMap-doton-Nelson2004WIMap-doton-Nelson
The story so far

Nelson, in brief

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

Nelson is a village in Buffalo County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 322 at the 2020 census. The village is surrounded by the Town of Nelson. Nelson is located at the junction of the Mississippi River and Chippewa River valleys. The river bottoms surrounding the confluence are home to a large amount of wildlife. A causeway and bridge across the Mississippi River link Nelson with the city of Wabasha, Minnesota at the junction of Wisconsin Highway 25 and Wisconsin Highway 35. Southbound Highway 25 becomes Minnesota Highway 60 upon crossing the Mississippi River to Wabasha. Nelson lies on Wisconsin Highway 35, the "Great River Road," a popular tourist route that runs along …

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 571 in 2010, 574 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Nelson, 1862 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Burnside post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Burnside post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Misha Mokwa post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1965Post officeThe Misha Mokwa post office closes
  8. 1968In the archiveJohn N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 DISTANT VIEW TO WEST SOUTHWEST. - Chippewa River…
On the map

Nelson on the map, 1932 to 1974

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

Nelson on the 1932 USGS mapNelson on the 1950 USGS mapNelson on the 1974 USGS map1932Alma 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 Nelson.

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.

John N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 DISTANT VIEW TO WEST SOUTHWEST. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Riv…
Retake this viewJohn N. Vogel, Photographer, August 1993 DISTANT VIEW TO WEST SOUTHWEST. - Chippewa River Bridge, Spanning Chippewa Riv…, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Nelson, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 395

Between 322 and 395 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Nelson

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

See all →
Mary Pat GleasonAmerican actress · b. 1950
Helen ParkhurstAmerican educator, author, and lecturer · b. 1887
R
Randy BreuerAmerican basketball player · b. 1960
L
Larry BrandenburgAmerican actor · b. 1948
Ole H. OlsonAmerican politician · b. 1872
Taylor HeiseAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2000
Help out

Finish Nelson’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJohn N. Vogel, Photographer, August 199…: 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.

PepinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlma11 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townModenaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMaxvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlmaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Nelson’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 Wikimedia Commons (18), 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.