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History · Sand Lake

Half of Sand Lake’s homes were built after 1979

Most of Sand Lake was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1955 on.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Sand Lake’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 Sand Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sand Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sand Lake’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

Sand Lake, in brief

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

Sand Lake is a town in Burnett County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 576 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 531 to 576 (+8%).

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

Timeline

Sand Lake, 1899 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Dongola post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Post officeThe Dongola post office closes
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Sand Lake on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Sand Lake on the 1955 USGS mapSand Lake on the 1982 USGS map1955Hertel 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 Sand Lake.

Famous people

Famous people close to Sand Lake

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

See all →
Molly EngstromAmerican women's ice hockey player · b. 1983
P
Patricia Spafford SmithAmerican politician · b. 1925
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Dongola, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Sand Lake
Viola Lake

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.

JacksonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMeenonIts storyC−La FolletteIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRuskIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOaklandIts storyD

Questions about Sand Lake’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 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.