The story so far
Smelser, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smelser yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 794 in 2010, 786 in 2020.
–Not graded
History · Smelser
10% of Smelser’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1902 on and old-book passages.
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Smelser’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Smelser, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Smelser are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1984. Watch Smelser change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Saint Rose
Big Patch
Georgetown
Elmo
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BigpatchElmoGeorgetownSaint Rose
1cemetery inside Smelser
Smelser
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Smelser’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Smelser’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Smelser on the map, 1902 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Smelser. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Mineral Point sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Smelser.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Smelser in 1900
Passages that mention Smelser, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 736Read the page →
Read the text
The first settlements in the present town of Smelser were at the Big Patch mines. These were discovered in June, 1828, on Section 10, Town 2, Range 1. Very large stories are told of the enormous pieces of mineral found here. It is said that four men raised 45,000 pounds in one day. The names of the miners who dug here in the twenties have passed into oblivion. It is said that William Bowmer came in 1828. The discoverers of the Big Patch mine were Fitz and Jarrow.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Smelser, 1856 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1856Post officeThe Saint Rose post office opens
- 1862Post officeThe Big Patch post office opens
- 1870Post officeThe Georgetown post office opens
- 1882Post officeThe Saint Rose post office closes
- 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1904Post officeThe Big Patch post office closes
- 1920Post officeThe Georgetown post office closes
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.
Add from your albumStories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Smelser’s history
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.