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History · Sheldon

Sheldon’s post office opened in 1906, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1920.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sheldon began

When was Sheldon founded?

1906

The Sheldon post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fern (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 123 in 19202020 census: 261120 years
Founding year: the first Sheldon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sheldon’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 Sheldon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sheldon’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sheldon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sheldon’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

How Sheldon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sheldon.

Read it all →

Around 1885 a few pioneer families named Marshal, Sergeant and Carman settled in the brush a mile west of Sheldon's current location, in a hamlet they called "Fern." Anton Corbine carried mail in to them from Flambeau Farm (where the Flambeau River joins the Chippewa) by foot or by horse. Other settlers followed. Woodlawn Cemetery was started in 1903 with the burial of Mrs. Alice Elmendorf (aged 65 years). A little log school stood just south of it, and a Rev. Willam would sometimes follow the trails up from Huron to lead worship in the school. In 1905 Max Dietze from Hawkins built a general store east of the cemetery, supplied by driving a wagon with horses across the Jump and along logging roads to Holcombe or Chippewa. In 1906 D. L. Pickering built a sawmill on the bank of Little Jump River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sheldon, 1896 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Fern post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Sheldon post office opens
  5. 1907Post officeThe Fern post office closes
  6. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sheldon, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Sheldon Wisconsin main street2015Sheldon Wisconsin main streetWIMap-doton-Sheldon b2004WIMap-doton-Sheldon b
On the map

Sheldon on the map, 1971 to 1980

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

Sheldon on the 1971 USGS mapSheldon on the 1980 USGS map1971Sheldon 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 Sheldon.

People over time

Sheldon, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 292

Between 123 and 292 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Sheldon’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Fern, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fern
1896–1907
Sheldon
1906–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sheldon Estates

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

Questions about Sheldon’s history

What year was Sheldon founded?

The Sheldon post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.