Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Osceola

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Aerial View of Osceola, WIPhoto: WikiSocialConnor · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Osceola

Half of Osceola’s homes were built after 1996

Most of Osceola was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: WikiSocialConnor · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Osceola’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 Osceola are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Osceola, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Osceola’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Osceola’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Nye
1892–1957
Sand Lake
1898–1903
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
NyeSand Lake
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Osceola
Pleasant PrairieSand Lake

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

The story so far

Osceola, in brief

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

Osceola ( AH-see-OH-lə) is a village in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,765 at the 2020 census. Located mostly within the Town of Osceola, the village sits on the border with Minnesota, separated by the St. Croix River. It is along Wisconsin Highway 35.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,855 to 3,023 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Osceola, 1858 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Born hereGustav Stickley is born here
  3. 1892Post officeThe Nye post office opens
  4. 1898Post officeThe Sand Lake post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Sand Lake post office closes
  7. 1957Post officeThe Nye post office closes
  8. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1994Born hereCharlie Danielson is born here
By decade

Osceola, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Geiger Building2008Geiger Building1stBaptistOsceola20081stBaptistOsceolaStCroixRiver-Osceola-063-0505072007StCroixRiver-Osceola-063-050507OsceolaWI-067-0505072007OsceolaWI-067-050507
On the map

Osceola on the map, 1974 to 1985

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

Osceola on the 1974 USGS mapOsceola on the 1985 USGS map1974St Croix Dalles SE 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 Osceola.

Every building

Osceola, building by building, 1911

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 sheet.

Osceola fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 21911Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Osceola, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000188019001920194019601980200020202,765

Grew from 311 people in 1880 to 2,765 in 2020, 8 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Osceola

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

See all →
Gustav StickleyAmerican furniture designer · b. 1858
C
Charlie DanielsonAmerican professional golfer · b. 1994
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

DresserIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarfieldIts storyCFarmingtonIts storyB−St. Croix Falls1 historic placeB+AldenIts storyC

Questions about Osceola’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 (4), Wikidata (2), 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.