The story
Read it all →How Siren came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Siren.
The Ojibwe and the French fur traders were the principal inhabitants of the region in the early 1800s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Aarongunnar · CC BY-SA 3.0DHistory
History · Siren
Half of Siren’s homes were built after 1977
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Siren was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1950.
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Quick answers
About Siren’s history
How historic is Siren?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Siren’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Siren is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Siren’s overall grade.
Founding eraWithout a firm founding date for Siren, this grade rests on its old homes and Register listings–Homes built before 19403.2% of homes (±2.3) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Siren’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Siren’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Siren’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Siren’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Siren, 1941 to 1983
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Siren, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2001
2001
2001
2001On the map
Siren on the map, 1955 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Siren. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Webster sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Siren.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewBuying stamps in post office. Siren, Wisconsin, 1941
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Siren’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Siren, census by census
Between 613 and 988 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Siren’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
La FolletteIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDaniels1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMeenonIts storyC−Clam Falls1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLewisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest SwedenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Siren’s history
How does Siren rank for history?
Siren is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Siren?
3% of Siren’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.