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History · Pence

Pence’s post office opened in 1888, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Plummer Mine Headframe. Below: maps from 1956 on.

1888first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pence began

When was Pence founded?

1888

The Pence post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 160138 years
Founding year: the first Pence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Pence’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 Pence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pence’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pence’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
The story so far

Pence, in brief

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

Pence is a town in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 160 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Pence is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Germania is also located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 163 in 2010, 160 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Pence, 1888 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Pence post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908BuiltPlummer Mine Headframe is built
  5. 1908Born herePaul Alfonsi is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1986Post officeThe Pence post office closes
By decade

Pence, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Pence Wisconsin Water Tower2012Pence Wisconsin Water TowerPence Wisconsin Sign WIS772012Pence Wisconsin Sign WIS77Pence Wisconsin Downtown Looking East WIS772012Pence Wisconsin Downtown Looking East WIS77
On the map

Pence on the map, 1956 to 1980

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

Pence on the 1956 USGS mapPence on the 1980 USGS map1956Iron Belt 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 Pence.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Pence

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Plummer Mine Headframe
Plummer Mine Headframe, built 1908
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Mine Headframe1
Plummer Mine HeadframeMine Headframe · Built 1908

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Pence had its own post office from 1888 to 1986.

Pence
1888–1986
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

CareyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKnightIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontreal1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKimballIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIron BeltIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pence’s history

What year was Pence founded?

The Pence post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pence?

One place: the Plummer Mine Headframe (listed 1997).

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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.