Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rib Falls yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rib Falls is a town in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Wausau, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 947 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Rib Falls is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 993 to 947 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rib Falls in 1913
Passages that mention Rib Falls, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Marathon County, Wisconsin1913 · page 113Read the page →
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The present town of Rib Falls, being township 29, range 5, was settled contemporaneously with Stettin, the brothers Wilde, August Heise, August Schroeder, coming there in 1856, followed by Carl Hanke and four or five other families in 1857. In speaking of the early settlers of the town of Stettin, John Wilberle and Vogedes must also be mentioned.
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History of Marathon County, Wisconsin1913 · page 551Read the page →
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fine church edifice and parsonage was erected in the early eighties. It was dedicated by Rev. John Beinert. The first resident pastor was Rev. Conrad Eberhard, who was succeeded by Rev. Philip Hummel. The minister of this congregation also served two congregations, one in the town of Rib Falls and one in the town of Coming, at that time in town of Berlin in this county, now in Lincoln county, both of which congregations have neat church edifices.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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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 the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
